Mitt Romney says President Trump’s first year in the White House is similar to what he would have done if he had won the 2012 presidential election.
In a lengthy profile of Romney from the Washington Examiner, he responds to a question from a Utah GOP delegate about the president’s first year in office, saying he’s been in agreement with many of Trump’s policies. But, he’s clearly trying to walk a tight line when it comes to the president’s personality.
“His first year is very similar to things I’d have done my first year,” Romney said in response to one of the many questions he received regarding how he plans to work with Trump given their complicated history. “The things he’s actually done have been better than I expected.”
Romney isn’t the first Republican to be tied in knots discussing his support for the president.
In one exchange, he added a verbal inflection on the word “doing” as he attempted to distinguish between Trump’s rhetoric and his actions, and explain how he reconciles his opposition to the troubling things he says (and tweets) with what has turned out to be a pretty traditional GOP governing agenda that any of his opponents in the 2016 presidential primary would have pursued.
“If he says something which I believe is racist or divisive and serious, then I’ll point out that I disagree with that,” Romney told one voter. “But I’m an honest enough person that if he does something right — and by the way he’s done a number of things right — I’ll be fully supportive of those things. I will support the president’s agenda when it’s good for Utah, and good for the country, and so far that’s been the case.”
