BEDMINSTER, New Jersey, Nov. 19, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee for presidential office, met Saturday with President-elect Donald Trump, but revealed little of what had transpired.
Word of the scheduled meeting was first revealed two days ago, along with the rumor that Trump is considering Romney, his vocal critic, for the secretary of state position in the new administration.
Romney traveled to Trump’s golf club, in Bedminster, New Jersey, for the meeting. Romney made a brief statement when he left, but did not take questions from reporters.
Romney revealed the two had a “conversation with regards to the various theaters of the world where there are interests of the United States of real significance.
“We discussed those areas and exchanged our views on those topics, a very thorough and in-depth discussion in the time we had, and (I) appreciate the chance to speak with the president elect, and look forward to the coming administration.”
Romney has been one of Trump’s harshest critics, slamming him as a “con man,” a “phony” and “a fraud” in an eviscerating speech last March before Trump clinched the Republican nomination.
Trump, who endorsed Romney in 2012, repeatedly slammed the former GOP standard bearer during his bid for the Republican nomination, describing him as a failure.
Romney made no secret of his disdain for Trump throughout the 2016 campaign. Romney objected to what he saw as Trump’s intensely personal criticism of fellow Republicans and negative comments about women and minority groups.
In an interview with CNN in June, Romney said Trump was engaged in “trickle-down racism, which could have long-lasting effects on the country.” Trump responded to that comment at a rally in Florida, saying Romney “let us down” by failing to defeat President Barack Obama, adding Romney “choked like a dog.”
