Romney: ‘I’m not going to look backward’ on Trump criticism

Utah Senate hopeful Mitt Romney (R) said Thursday that he is setting his sights on the future, rather than looking back at his past criticism of President Trump. 

Speaking at a question-and-answer session in Sandy, Utah, on Thursday night, Romney said he was planning to “look forward” on his relationship with Trump, noting that the president has shifted on certain issues.

“I look forward. I’m not going to look backward,” Romney said, when asked by an audience member if he would criticize Trump in his Senate campaign like he did in a 2016 speech, according to the Deseret News. 

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Romney expressed support for Trump’s more confrontational approach to trade with China, but also warned against a trade war between the two countries — something critics think Trump is courting by escalating tariffs against Chinese goods.

“I don’t think we’re going to go there,” Romney said. 

The former Republican presidential nominee was once among Trump’s most ardent critics in the GOP. In a March 2016 speech at the University of Utah, Romney ripped the real estate mogul as a “phony” and a “fraud,” and warned that his policies could have dangerous consequences.

“His domestic policies would lead to recession. His foreign policies would make America and the world less safe,” Romney said. “He has neither the temperament nor the judgment to be president. And his personal qualities would mean that America would cease to be a shining city on a hill.”

But the relationship between the two men has appeared to soften since. Romney was once floated as a potential pick for Trump’s secretary of State. And after Romney announced his Senate bid in February, Trump offered him his endorsement.