Trump team tries to get its signals straight on possible Romney nomination
The ongoing melodrama surrounding Donald Trump’s choice of a secretary of state entered a new phase Monday as “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough reported that the president-elect is “furious” with one of his top aides for comments she made about the rumored leading contender, Mitt Romney.
In response to questions in the transition team’s daily press briefing call, communications director Jason Miller simply said the president-elect is considering “a number of very well qualified individuals” for the post. He declined to comment on the remarks by Scarborough — who is said to speak regularly with Trump — or on his boss’s mood.
“I’ll leave that to the president-elect if he wants to have any additional commentary,” Miller said of the eyebrow-raising remarks by Kellyanne Conway on “Meet the Press” Sunday. Conway said that Trump voters feel “betrayed” by the possibility that Romney might get the most important post in the new Cabinet, and that the transition team was receiving widespread “blowback” against appointing the 2012 Republican nominee, who described Trump during the campaign as a “con man” and a potentially catastrophic choice for president.
“People feel betrayed to think Gov. Romney, who went out of his way to question the character and the intellect and the integrity of Donald Trump, now our president-elect, would be given the most significant Cabinet post of all,” Conway said.
On his show, Scarborough implied this was a case of sour grapes. “Kellyanne doesn’t have a job yet, and she’s angry about that,” Scarborough said.
A few minutes later, Scarborough read a response that he said he received from Conway.
“We have a response from Kellyanne Conway,” Scarborough said, “who says about our reporting this morning, ‘It is sexist.’ She says she can have any job she wants.”
During the transition team press call, Miller was pressed about Conway’s comment. He declined to comment on whether it was possible Conway was speaking without Trump’s authorization.
Miller joked that he appreciated getting a follow-up question.
“I very much appreciate the second bite of the apple on this one, but as I said earlier, the president-elect is the one person who’ll be making the decisions here,” Miller said.
A spokesperson for Romney did not respond to a request for comment about Conway’s remarks. In a text message Monday morning, Conway said that she would have to address the issue “later.” However, Conway made it clear she has not been cast out of Trump’s inner circle as she said she was busy in Trump’s penthouse with the president-elect and his spokeswoman, Hope Hicks.
“Up in residence with PEOTUS and Hope,” Conway wrote.
