Mitt Romney could serve as Donald Trump's secretary of state despite 'phony' jibes

Ups and downs: Donald Trump endorses Mitt Romney in 2012. They later fell out
Reuters
David Gardner18 November 2016

Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential candidate, may serve as secretary of state under Donald Trump despite labelling him a “fraud” and a “phony” during the election campaign.

At the height of one of the most divisive political campaigns in US history, Mr Trump hit back by dismissing Mr Romney as “a loser”. He has also said the politician “choked like a dog” during his ill-fated campaign four years ago.

But the pair will meet this weekend to discuss the ex-Massachusetts governor’s possible appointment as America’s top diplomat. Sources said the meeting, set for Trump Tower in New York, is all about “mending fences”.

Even among divided Republicans, the relationship between Mr Trump, 70, and Mr Romney, 69, has been especially contentious. But the president-elect’s decision to bring him back into the fold is being seen as a message to the Republican Party hierarchy that he does not plan to go it alone in the White House.

Mr Romney has been outspoken in his attacks on Mr Trump, accusing him of “playing the American public for suckers”. At the University of Utah in March, he said: “Think of Donald Trump’s personal qualities — the bullying, the greed, the showing off, the misogyny, the absurd third-grade theatrics.”

Mr Trump hasn’t held back in return. During the campaign, he said: “If he would have devoted the same energy and time to winning the presidency four years ago, as he is now on trying to destroy our party and the unity of our party, he would have won that election and we wouldn’t have had the problems that we have right now.”

However, once the election result was confirmed last week, Mr Trump said his old nemesis had called to congratulate him, leaving the door open to the two men possibly working together. Other candidates for the secretary of state job include former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani. Talk of tumult inside Mr Trump’s transition team was played down last night as he enjoyed his first face-to-face meeting with a foreign dignitary, sitting down with Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe — with his daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner at his side. Mr Abe said the meeting “renewed my conviction that together with Mr Trump I will be able to establish a relationship of trust”.

In Mexico, the government last night unveiled the first signs of a contingency plan to survive four years of a Trump presidency. To save the suffering peso, the central bank raised its key interest rate by 0.5 per cent, citing the election.

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