As Mitt Romney prepares to tear into Republican frontrunner Donald Trump as "a phony, a fraud" in a Thursday morning speech on the 2016 presidential race, Trump reminds Romney that he didn't always feel this way about him.
Four years ago, Trump did in fact end up endorsing the then-Republican presidential candidate, a favor which Romney responded to with lavish praise for Trump. Though on Thursday Romney may be railing against Trump and calling on voters to "make the right choices," in Feb. 2012 he had this to say:
"Donald Trump has shown an extraordinary ability to understand how our economy works to create jobs for the American people. He's done it here in Nevada, he’s done it across the country. ... He's one of the few people who stood up and said, you know what, China's been cheating. They've taken jobs from Americans. ... I spent my life in the private sector, not quite as successful as this guy but successful nonetheless. ... I want to say thank you to Donald Trump and look forward to seeing you out on the trail." [Politico Playbook]
Romney's speech on the "state of the 2016 presidential race" will take place at 11:30 am ET at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Trump to partly fund SNAP as shutdown talks progressSpeed Read The administration has said it will cover about 50% of benefits
-
Political cartoons for November 4Cartoons Tuesday’s political cartoons include Prince Andrew, the collapse of democracy, and more
-
Regal Scottish castle hotelsThe Week Recommends These rural retreats are perfect for a Traitors-inspired cosy winter break
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
