Conway: Trump backers feel ‘betrayed’ by Romney consideration
By Tom LoBianco, CNN
Updated
10:00 AM EST, Mon November 28, 2016
Story highlights
Trump's top advisers say supporters feel "betrayed" that Trump is considering Romney for secretary of state
Kellyanne Conway first voiced her concerns with Romney on Thanksgiving
(CNN) —
One of President-elect Donald Trump’s top advisers said Sunday that his loyal supporters across the country feel “betrayed” that he is considering one of his most vicious critics, Mitt Romney, for secretary of state.
“I’m all for party unity, but I’m not sure we have to pay for that with the secretary of state position,” Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s campaign manager, told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.”
She added: “It’s just breathtaking in scope and intensity the type of messages I’ve received from all over the country … the number of people who feel betrayed to think that Gov. Romney would get the most prominent Cabinet post after he went so far out of his way to hurt Donald Trump.”
Photos: In transition: President-elect Trump
President-elect Donald Trump shakes hands with Martin Luther King III after they met at Trump Tower in New York on Monday, January 16. Afterward, King said the meeting was "constructive" and that the two discussed the importance of voting accessibility. Trump didn't speak to the media about the meeting.
PHOTO:
DOMINICK REUTER/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: In transition: President-elect Trump
Trump speaks at Trump Tower in New York on Wednesday, January 11. In his first news conference since winning the election, a combative Trump made clear he will not mute his style when he is inaugurated on January 20. He lashed out at media and political foes alike.
PHOTO:
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Photos: In transition: President-elect Trump
US Sen. Jeff Sessions, Trump's nominee for attorney general, is sworn in during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday, January 10. Trump and his transition team are in the process of filling high-level positions for the new administration.
PHOTO:
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Photos: In transition: President-elect Trump
Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, arrives on Capitol Hill for a meeting with House Speaker Paul Ryan on Monday, January 9. Kushner, a 35-year-old businessman-turned-political strategist, will be senior adviser to the president, a senior transition official told CNN.
PHOTO:
Cliff Owen/AP
Photos: In transition: President-elect Trump
Trump gets on an elevator after speaking with reporters at New York's Trump Tower on January 9.
PHOTO:
Evan Vucci/AP
Photos: In transition: President-elect Trump
Trump stands with Alibaba Executive Chairman Jack Ma, Asia's richest man, as they walk to speak with reporters at Trump Tower on January 9. Ma met with Trump to tease plans for creating "one million" jobs in the United States. Trump praised Ma after the meeting as a "great, great entrepreneur and one of the best in the world."
PHOTO:
Evan Vucci/AP
Photos: In transition: President-elect Trump
Trump stands with legendary boxing promoter Don King after meeting at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on Wednesday, December 28. Trump and King met to discuss the relationship between Israel and the United States.
PHOTO:
DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: In transition: President-elect Trump
Trump attends a meeting with Steve Bannon, chief White House strategist and senior counselor, at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Wednesday, December 21. Trump spent the holidays in Mar-a-Lago.
PHOTO:
Andrew Harnik/AP
Photos: In transition: President-elect Trump
Trump spokeswoman Kellyanne Conway talks to the press in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York on Thursday, December 15. Conway, who was Trump's campaign manager, will work in his administration as "counselor to the president," it was announced on Thursday, December 22.
PHOTO:
Rex Features/AP
Photos: In transition: President-elect Trump
Trump meets with technology executives in New York on Wednesday, December 14. From left are Jeff Bezos, chief executive officer of Amazon; Larry Page, chief executive officer of Google's parent company Alphabet; Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook; and Vice President-elect Mike Pence. The three main areas discussed were jobs, immigration and China, according to a source briefed on the meeting.
PHOTO:
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Photos: In transition: President-elect Trump
Three of Trump's children -- from left, Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric -- attend the meeting with tech leaders on December 14.
PHOTO:
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post/Getty Images
Photos: In transition: President-elect Trump
Trump, Pence and House Speaker Paul Ryan wave during an event in West Allis, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, December 13. "He's like a fine wine," Trump said of Ryan at the rally, which was part of his "thank you" tour to states that helped him win the election. "Every day that goes by, I get to appreciate his genius more and more."
PHOTO:
Daniel Acker/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Photos: In transition: President-elect Trump
Trump and rapper Kanye West speak to the press after meeting at Trump Tower in New York on December 13. Trump called West a "good man" and told journalists that they have been "friends for a long time." West later tweeted that he met with Trump to discuss "multicultural issues."
PHOTO:
TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: In transition: President-elect Trump
Trump selected former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, right, to be his nominee for energy secretary, which would make Perry the head of an agency he once suggested he would eliminate.
PHOTO:
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Photos: In transition: President-elect Trump
Trump has tapped ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to serve as secretary of state, the transition team announced December 13. Tillerson, seen here at a conference in 2015, has no formal foreign-policy experience, but he has built close relationships with many world leaders by closing massive deals across Eurasia and the Middle East on behalf of the world's largest energy company.
PHOTO:
BEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: In transition: President-elect Trump
Trump waves during the Army-Navy football game, which was played in Baltimore on Saturday, December 10.
PHOTO:
Andrew Harnik/AP
Photos: In transition: President-elect Trump
Betsy DeVos, Trump's pick for education secretary, speaks during an event in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Friday, December 9.
PHOTO:
DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: In transition: President-elect Trump
Trump shakes hands with Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad at an event in Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday, December 8. Trump re-introduced Branstad as his pick for US ambassador to China.
PHOTO:
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post/Getty Images
Photos: In transition: President-elect Trump
Trump greets retired Marine Gen. James Mattis at a rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on Tuesday, December 6. Trump said he would nominate Mattis as his defense secretary.
PHOTO:
Andrew Harnik/AP
Photos: In transition: President-elect Trump
Trump speaks to members of the media at Trump Tower in New York on December 6.
PHOTO:
Andrew Harnik/AP
Photos: In transition: President-elect Trump
Trump visits the Carrier air-conditioning company in Indianapolis on Thursday, December 1. Carrier announced that it had reached a deal with Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence, who is currently governor of Indiana, to keep about 1,000 of 1,400 jobs at its Indianapolis plant rather than move them to Mexico. The Carrier plant had been a theme of Trump's campaign promise to prevent more jobs from being outsourced to other countries.
PHOTO:
TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: In transition: President-elect Trump
Trump and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney share a meal in New York on Tuesday, November 29. Romney was reportedly in the running for secretary of state.
PHOTO:
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Photos: In transition: President-elect Trump
Trump waves to a crowd at The New York Times building after meeting with some of the newspaper's reporters, editors and columnists on Tuesday, November 22. Six takeaways from the meeting
PHOTO:
Mark Lennihan/AP
Photos: In transition: President-elect Trump
Trump is flanked by Pence and Romney after a meeting in Bedminster Township, New Jersey, on Saturday, November 19.
PHOTO:
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Photos: In transition: President-elect Trump
"60 Minutes" correspondent Lesley Stahl interviews Trump and his family at his New York home on Friday, November 11. It was Trump's first television interview since the election.
PHOTO:
CBS/Getty Images
Photos: In transition: President-elect Trump
House Speaker Paul Ryan shows Trump and his wife, Melania, the Speaker's Balcony at the US Capitol on Thursday, November 10.
PHOTO:
Zach Gibson/Getty Images
Photos: In transition: President-elect Trump
Ryan listens as Trump speaks to the press at the US Capitol on November 10. Trump talked about his eagerness to join forces with Ryan to begin implementing new policies.
PHOTO:
NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: In transition: President-elect Trump
Trump walks with his wife and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell after a meeting at the US Capitol on November 10.
PHOTO:
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Photos: In transition: President-elect Trump
Trump shakes hands with President Barack Obama following a meeting in the Oval Office on November 10. Obama told his successor that he wanted him to succeed and would do everything he could to ensure a smooth transition.
PHOTO:
Win McNamee/Getty Images
Photos: In transition: President-elect Trump
Trump delivers his acceptance speech during his election night event at the New York Hilton Midtown hotel on Wednesday, November 9.
“Receiving deluge of social media & private comms re: Romney Some Trump loyalists warn against Romney as sec of state,” she tweeted, including a link to a Politico story.
Romney has been scrapping behind the scenes with Rudy Giuliani for the post, although alternative options have emerged, including former Gen. David Petraeus and Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker.
Conway said Sunday that much of the anger, which has boiled over in public, stems from the personal attacks Romney lobbed at him.
“There was the Never Trump movement and then there was Mitt Romney he gave speeches against Donald Trump, he attacked his character,” Conway said.
Ana Navarro, a Republican Trump critic and CNN political commentator, registered her surprise at the interview on Twitter, saying: “Astounding to hear K. Conway, who has the ability to tell Trump privately, trash possibility of Romney as Sec of State publicly on @CNNSotu.”
But Conway fired back: “I did tell him privately. And I’ll respect his decision. Point is the volume & intensity of grassroots resistance to Romney is breathtaking.”
The fight between Romney, the Republican Party’s 2012 nominee, and Trump was nasty and personal.
After Romney said he didn’t expect Trump to win the GOP nomination and called some of the real estate mogul’s past comments “childish in some respects,” Trump tweeted: “.@MittRomney can only speak negatively about my presidential chances because I have been openly hard on his terrible “choke” loss to Obama!”
Trump fired back, saying that he could have forced Romney to his knees in 2012 when Romney sought his endorsement.
“He was begging for my endorsement. I could have said, ‘Mitt, drop to your knees’ – he would have dropped to his knees,” Trump said.
Romney’s speech sparked a furious back-and-forth that only ended after the election when, in a stunning turn, the two met to discuss Romney becoming secretary of state. Since that meeting, conservative backers of Trump have been openly bashing Romney, including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Reince Preibus, Trump’s incoming chief of staff, downplayed any fighting behind the scenes, suggesting that picking Romney would make for a good “team of rivals” for Trump.
“He’s going to be making the best decision for the American people. It isn’t a matter of warfare. I mean, there’s a lot of opinions about this and, yes, it is sort of a ‘team of rivals’ concept if you were to go towards the Gov. Romney concept,” Priebus said on Fox News’ “Fox News Sunday.”
Priebus declined to say whether Romney should publicly apologize for his attacks on Trump. He also spoke highly of Petraeus, as a possible third option.
“I don’t think anyone could say that David Petraeus isn’t a very bright, calculated, smart person, and these are the types of conversations that I think the American people would expect of an incoming president that’s trying to make the best decisions possible for everyone out there across the country,” Priebus said.
Petraeus was sentenced to two years probation last year after he revealed he had provided top secret information to his biographer, whom he was having an affair with. Trump often held out Petraeus on the campaign trail as evidence that Hillary Clinton should face prosecution for her use of a private email server.
