Gulf News

Romney in U-turn on Trump presidency

The former Republican presidenti­al nominee now backs the president for a second term

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On the edge of a mountainto­p in Utah, it’s getting complicate­d for Mitt Romney.

With the sun setting over his shoulder, the former Republican presidenti­al nominee and would-be senator tells his audience, gathered on the patio of a resort, that President Donald Trump will win a second term.

Romney also says that annual $1 trillion (Dh3.67 trillion) deficits under Trump are “highly stimulativ­e.” And ignoring Trump’s new trade tariffs, Romney says there’s nothing already on the horizon that will push the US into a recession.

No room for critics

Once the face of the “Never Trump” movement, Romney appears to be embracing Trump’s presidency as he reenters national politics, this time as a 71-year-old candidate for the Senate from Utah.

Perhaps no Republican leader demonstrat­es the transforma­tion of the party better than Romney. Two years ago, Romney attacked Trump’s very same policies on trade, spending and national security.

Today, like other candidates across the country this election season, Romney is taking an approach that suggests there’s no room for an outspoken Trump critic in the Republican Party. “Whatever the disagreeme­nts have been, I think they’ve put them behind each other,” said Anthony Scaramucci, a former Romney fund-raiser who briefly served as Trump’s communicat­ions director.

Scaramucci was among dozens of high-profile business and political leaders at Romney’s annual summit in Park City this weekend. Outspoken Trump supporters were scarce.

The president has forgiven Romney, Scaramucci said, and Romney “can be an ally.” It may not be that simple. Many Romney loyalists, in comments in the hallways of the Stein Eriksen Lodge, said Romney remains deeply concerned about Trump’s policies and leadership style. For many among the Trump faithful, Romney will never be forgiven for his speech two years ago when he laid out in stark terms his case for why a Trump presidency would be a disaster.

Publicly, the two men have been respectful to each other, at a distance, since the 2016 election. Trump endorsed Romney’s Senate bid on Twitter earlier this year. And on Friday, the president had this to say after learning Romney predicted a 2020 Trump victory: “Mitt’s a straight shooter — whether people love him or don’t love him.”

The backhanded compliment is evidence of the lingering tension between Republican heavyweigh­ts who represent different wings of the GOP.

 ?? AP ?? Mitt Romney smiles as he declares his candidacy for the US Senate at the state elections office, at the Utah State Capitol, in Salt Lake City.
AP Mitt Romney smiles as he declares his candidacy for the US Senate at the state elections office, at the Utah State Capitol, in Salt Lake City.

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