Awkward: ‘Phony’ Trump considers ‘loser’ Mitt Romney as secretary of state, ahead of meeting
Romney has described Trump as ‘a fraud’, while Trump has called Romney a ‘sad and pathetic’ loser who ‘choked like a dog’ during 2012 campaign
US President-elect Donald Trump planned a Saturday meeting with Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee and fierce Trump critic, and may discuss whether he should be a candidate for secretary of state, a source familiar with the meeting said on Thursday.
Trump already has a lengthy list of potential candidates for the post of top US diplomat, including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, US Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who met Trump on Thursday.
Trump, a former reality TV star, has shown a flair for the dramatic in his deliberations over his Cabinet, saying only he knows who “the finalists” are.
Trump’s potentially awkward meeting with Romney amounts to an olive branch of sorts to one of his sharpest critics. Romney, who in a speech in March called Trump “a phony, a fraud”, urged Republicans to vote for anyone but the New York real estate magnate while the party was picking its presidential nominee.
In turn, Trump - who endorsed Romney in 2012 - called him a “stone cold loser”, “sad and pathetic”, and added that Romney begged for his endorsement and “would’ve dropped to his knees” for it. He has also said that he “choked like a dog” during his 2012 presidential campaign against President Barack Obama.
The source said that a broad discussion was expected during the meeting and that discussion about the secretary of state position was possible. The source had said earlier his understanding was that the meeting would occur on Sunday.
Asked about the meeting, Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway suggested it was still being arranged. “We’re working on it,” she said.
Sessions sounded far from certain Romney would be offered a job.
“There are a lot of talented people that he (Trump) needs good relationships with. And I think Mr. Romney would be quite capable of doing a number of things. But he will be one of those, I am sure, that’s reviewed. Donald Trump will make that decision,” Sessions said.
When Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, opted out of running for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, people close to him suggested that serving as secretary of state might be appealing to him if a Republican won the presidency.
A steady stream of potential Trump administration hires made their way through the lobby of Trump Tower to meet with either Trump or officials close to him.
All indicated a willingness to serve, such as Jeb Hensarling, a Texas Republican who is chairman of the US House of Representatives Financial Services Committee. He is a potential treasury secretary in the Trump administration.
“I stand ready to help the president in any capacity possible. I’ve got a great position in public policy today, if he wants to talk to me obviously, about serving somewhere else, we’ll look at serving somewhere else,” he told reporters.
