President Donald Trump and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney set aside their differences on Twitter Monday evening, when the President tweeted a “full support” endorsement of the Republican Utah Senate candidate and Romney embraced the backing.
Trump said Romney would make “a great senator” and “worthy successor” to retiring Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), a Trump favorite.
.@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
Within minutes, Romney, also the former 2012 Republican presidential nominee, responded, thanking Trump for his support and saying he hopes “over the course of the campaign I also earn the support and endorsement of the people of Utah.”
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
Relations between the Senate hopeful and the President have not always been so cheery.
In 2016, Trump said Romney “choked like a dog” during his 2012 presidential bid against former President Barack Obama. Romney’s been highly critical in return and has consistently criticized Trump’s fitness for office since he became a serious political contender.
During the 2016 Republican primaries, Romney called Trump a “phony” and joined efforts to block Trump’s GOP nomination at the Republican convention. More recently, Romney criticized Trump’s full-throated embrace of former Republican Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, denounced the President’s response to the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia last summer and called out Trump on Twitter for the President’s reported “shithole” comments about African nations.
Before moving into the White House, Trump considered Romney for secretary of state, but eventually tapped former Exxon Mobile CEO Rex Tillerson for the gig. Critics speculated Trump was simply trying to humiliate Romney with the courtship.
When asked about the status of their relationship before Trump tweeted his endorsement Monday, Romney told the Associated Press that they had talked on the phone in recent months and that the two had “a cordial and respectful relationship.”
