As Donald Trump marched through the GOP primary, Mitt Romney took up the mantle as leader of the establishment Republicans in the #NeverTrump movement.
But after his stunning victory, President-elect Trump reached out to the failed 2012 Republican nominee and scheduled a meeting at his New Jersey golf club.
And that meeting could produce one of the most shocking announcements of Trump’s transition.
One of the key posts in any administration is Secretary of State.
Our nation’s chief diplomat is the President’s representative on the world stage and communicates America’s foreign policy to both allies and adversaries.
And so far, President-elect Trump has yet to nominate anyone for the position.
It was initially thought former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was in line for the post, but ethics considerations, as well as conservative opposition led by Senator Rand Paul, could have stalled his candidacy.
So when Mitt Romney agreed to meet with the President-elect, many wondered if the meeting also doubled as a job interview.
Politico reports the two men did talk foreign policy during their hour and 20 minute talk:
“Romney and Trump talked for roughly an hour and 20 minutes, and the two emerged to talk briefly with reporters. The former governor said they talked about “far-reaching” foreign policy issues. Trump simply said the meeting “went great.”
They took no questions.
There has been speculation that Romney could get a top job in Trump’s Cabinet, such as Secretary of State, but others have characterized such an appointment as a long shot.”
Going into the meeting, many believed there was little chance President-elect Trump would offer the position of Secretary of State to Romney.
Not only was Romney harshly critical of the President-elect during both the primary and general election campaigns, but there are real policy differences between the two men.
Romney advocates for the liberal interventionist foreign policy practiced by the Bush administration.
Romney is an unreconstructed hawk, whereas President-elect Trump won the election by campaigning on a more restrained American foreign policy and sharply rebuking the failed foreign policy of both the Obama and Bush administrations.
However, reports have surfaced that President-elect Trump did offer the job to Romney.
The Daily Caller reports:
“Donald Trump wants Gen. James Mattis to run the Department of Defense, Gov. Mitt Romney to run the State Department, and Steven Mnuchin to run the Treasury Department.
That’s according to a source with intimate knowledge of Trump’s thinking.
By Friday, Trump had narrowed down cabinet roles for Mattis to either Defense or State, but prefers Romney to take the latter job, the source tells The Daily Caller.
Mattis and Romney were scheduled to meet with the president-elect Saturday at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. Romney and Mnuchin were both spotted by reporters there Saturday afternoon.”
American Patriot Daily News will continue to keep you updated on all developments of President-elect Trump’s transition.
