Trump Endorses Romney for Senate
mLast week, Mitt Romney announced that he would run to replace retiring Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) in the upcoming elections. President Donald Trump took to Twitter late Monday night to announce that he fully endorses Romney’s bid for Senate, which was immediately accepted by Romney.
.@MittRomney has announced he is running for the Senate from the wonderful State of Utah. He will make a great Senator and worthy successor to @OrrinHatch, and has my full support and endorsement!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 20, 2018
Thank you Mr. President for the support. I hope that over the course of the campaign I also earn the support and endorsement of the people of Utah.
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) February 20, 2018
Such an endorsement adds to the complexity of the relationship between Romney and Trump, which has been developing since Romney’s presidential campaign in 2012. According to New York Magazine, Romney initially sought endorsement for the presidency from then-reality star Trump, who had previously attacked Romney for not creating enough jobs. During Trump’s bid for presidency in 2016, Romney essentially did the opposite of endorse him; he made a fiery speech to Republicans of the #NeverTrump movement claiming that Trump is a “fraud” who thinks of Americans as “suckers.”
Tensions eased after Trump considered Romney for Secretary of State, although Romney did not have trouble publicly criticizing the president after he took office. He most recently called Trump out on his derogatory comment about “sh*thole” countries, calling such a statement “antithetical to American values.”
The poverty of an aspiring immigrant’s nation of origin is as irrelevant as their race. The sentiment attributed to POTUS is inconsistent w/ America’s history and antithetical to American values. May our memory of Dr. King buoy our hope for unity, greatness, & “charity for all.”
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) January 15, 2018
According to POLITICO, Trump also has attempted to block Romney from getting into Senate by his push to get Sen. Hatch to run for reelection. In addition to having some cushy political support from Sen. Hatch, Trump reportedly disliked the idea of having a Republican senator in office who would freely criticize him.
Since this recent battle, Romney has reportedly spoken with Trump several times over the phone in a “cordial manner,” indicating likely reconciliation between the two politicians according to NBC. Romney has not made any further announcements regarding the endorsement, and has instead focused his campaign on making Utah a model state.
