Donald Trump, Mitt Romney hold 'far-reaching' talk on world affairs
Mitt Romney, who for months told the American public Donald Trump was unfit for the White House, spent more than an hour Saturday discussing global affairs with the president-elect.
The meeting began around 1 p.m. at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., with Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence greeting the 2012 GOP presidential nominee at the clubhouse door. It ended around 2:20 p.m. with Trump seeing him off, and Romney making a brief statement to reporters.
"We had a far-reaching conversation with regards to the various theaters in the world where there are interests of the United States of real significance," Romney said. "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 appreciated the chance to speak with the president-elect and look forward to the coming administration."
As Romney approached reporters, Trump cupped his hands around his mouth and said "it went great," according to a pool report.
There was no confirmation or suggestion of a job offer despite reports of Romney's interest in the secretary of State post. Analysts say it’s doubtful Trump would offer a job in his administration or that Romney would accept it given the verbal jabs they exchanged on the trail.
Former Arkansas Governor and Trump confidante Mike Huckabee said it "doesn't make any sense" to give someone who was such a vocal critic a top cabinet post.
"To give a guy a job who basically said all his supporters were following a con man, I just think that would be an insult to the voters," Huckabee told Fox News Saturday. "You don't entrust one of the of the most important parts of your administration and your entire presidency to people who fundamentally don't think you have any business sitting in that chair offering them the job."
Trump to meet with one of his biggest critics: Mitt Romney
During the campaign, Romney called Trump a “phony ... a fraud ...(and) a con man,” among other pointed criticisms. He also wrote on Facebook that Trump’s refusal to release his tax records was “disqualifying.”
Trump responded that Romney was “irrelevant (and) a choke artist.” He tweeted often about Romney, at one point calling him a “dope!”
Romney was the first of several high-profile visitors meeting with Trump and Pence this weekend. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie are expected to meet with the incoming president Sunday.
By 6 p.m. Saturday, Trump had also ended a meeting with Chicago Cubs owner and GOP fundraiser Todd Ricketts. Asked by reporters whether Ricketts would be in his cabinet, Trump replied, "we’re going to see, we’re going to have a lot of great talent."
Twenty minutes later, Trump concluded a meeting with fast food CEO Andy Puzder, who runs CKE Restaurants (which operates Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s), followed by Republican National Committee finance chair and businessman Lew Eisenberg (Commerce).
Saturday evening Trump told gathered press he was "getting close" to making new cabinet decisions. "We’re seeing tremendous talent. People that, like I say, we will ‘Make America Great Again.’ These are really great people," he said. "These are really, really talented people."
On a brief break, Trump resumed tweeting about Pence's visit to Broadway's Hamilton. "Very rude and insulting of Hamilton cast member to treat our great future V.P. Mike Pence to a theater lecture. Couldn't even memorize lines!" the president-elect tweeted. But minutes later, he deleted the jab.
Also on Trump's weekend schedule are:
Former Washington D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee, School voucher advocate Betsy DeVos, retired U.S. Marine Corps general James Mattis, , Center for Neighborhood Enterprises President Bob Woodson, and surgeon and businessman Patrick Soon-Shiong.
Early Saturday evening Trump added that he expected the cabinet to be "partially" shaped overnight, but would not confirm if Mattis would be named secretary of defense, calling the general a "great man."
Aside from Giuliani and Christie, Sunday’s lineup of visitors includes: conservative writer John Gray, immigration hardliner Kris Kobach, venture capitalist Wilbur Ross, BET founder Robert Johnson, and global investor David McCormick.
Who has Trump picked for his Cabinet so far?
Jason Miller, a spokesman for the Trump transition team, said the roster of visitors “shows the reach and the depth to which we’re going to pull in diverse ideas and different perspective as we form this administration.”
Some of the visitors are potential administration hires and some “are coming purely to offer their advice,” Miller said. “But I think this also shows that the president-elect is even bringing folks together when they have been on the opposite of him politically.”
Trump has already begun forming his national security team, selecting retired Army lieutenant general Michael Flynn as national security adviser, Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions as Attorney General, and Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan., as his pick to lead the Central Intelligence Agency.
Sean Spicer, another Trump spokesman, said it’s possible at least one more member of that team gets named Saturday.