It took former presidential candidate and now Senate hopeful Mitt Romney less than an hour to accept the endorsement of a man he’s criticized relentlessly in the past—President Donald Trump.
Romney, who is running for the seat that will be vacated by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) later this year, was handed an endorsement by Trump late Monday night despite the public feuding the two have engaged in over the past several years.
“.@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!” Trump wrote.
.@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
Such a public endorsement from the president may seem odd considering Romney called him a “phony” and a “fraud” during the 2016 election in a speech where he implored Republicans to make every effort possible from keeping Trump away from the party’s nomination.
“His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University,” he said during the speech. “He’s playing the American public for suckers: He gets a free ride to the White House and all we get is a lousy hat.”
Romney also called on Trump to apologize following his response to the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia last year.
Before Romney officially threw his name into the ring to take Hatch’s Senate seat, reports suggested that Trump tried to persuade Hatch to seek reelection during the 2018 midterms to block Romney from making a run.
Despite all of this, Romney welcomed Trump’s endorsement with open arms, responding to the tweet in less than an hour.
“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,” Romney wrote.
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
Romney once said that had he known Trump’s feelings about Muslims and the KKK, he would have accepted a 2012 endorsement from Trump.
If Trump had said 4 years ago the things he says today about the KKK, Muslims, Mexicans, disabled, I would NOT have accepted his endorsement
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) March 3, 2016
Some of Trump’s more recent endorsements haven’t gone over well.
Last year, the president threw his support behind Sen. Luther Strange in the Alabama Republican primary runoff (before deleting his tweets of support).
Strange lost to Roy Moore, who was then accused of sexual assault of a teenage girl and attempted rape of another, who Trump then publicly endorsed.
Moore lost to Democrat Doug Jones in December.
