Cox changes stance on Trump, pledges to vote for him
Gov. Spencer Cox at his monthly news conference in Salt Lake City on Friday, July 19, 2024. (Pool photo by (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune)
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox flipped his stance on former President Donald Trump and publicly endorsed him on Friday after Trump’s assassination attempt, an event he called “a sobering moment.” He also confirmed he’d vote for Trump come November.
Cox, who last week told CNN he wasn’t planning on voting for Trump in the general election, said that Trump’s remarks after he said he was shot in the ear in a Pennsylvania rally last week made him reconsider his original choice. The governor hasn’t voted for a major presidential candidate since 2012, when Utah Senator Mitt Romney ran for the office, he has said in the past.
The governor said he doesn’t know how it feels to have an experience that close to death, but he thinks it would require some introspection “and clearly it has with him and I admire that.”
“I was grateful to see the President say some things that he’s never said before. In the moments after that, in the statements that he released, and in parts of his speech last night, the former president talked about the need to lower the temperature and unify our country,” Cox said during his July news conference broadcast by PBS.
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There are reasons to believe Trump will lower the temperature in his usual heated speeches, Cox said. He has heard from people close to Trump how the assassination attempt has affected him personally. He said he doesn’t believe there will be a total change, but Cox said he’ll follow through with his commitment to support him.
Cox also sent a letter to Trump on Sunday, where he quoted religious scripture, praised Trump’s policies and said the “country has suffered over the last four years due to a lack of leadership.”
“Your life was spared. Now, because of that miracle, you have the opportunity to do something that no other person on earth can do right now: unify and save our country,” Cox wrote. “I fear that America is on the precipice of unmitigated disaster. We need to turn down the temperature and find ways to come together again before it’s too late.”
He also advised Trump to treat President Biden with basic human dignity and respect, and to emphasize unity rather than hate, in order to win the election by a historic margin and “become one of our nation’s most transformational leaders.”
“By extending an olive branch to voters who are open to persuasion and ignoring the extremists, you can solidify a legacy as one of the most important presidents in our nation’s 250-year history,” he wrote.
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During the news conference, Cox said that he’s “a little different conservative, maybe than the party is today,” describing his values as “Ronald Reagan conservative.” But, he added, he’s trying to be open and to learn from people who have different ideas within the Republican party.
As Cox keeps on running his “Disagree Better” campaign, which encourages Americans to shape policy through healthy conflict and evaluates polarization in the country, he found a shift in tone in Trump’s words that gained his support, he said.
“I preach it, I try to live by it. I am not very good at it. I know that former President Trump isn’t very good at it, hasn’t been for a long time,” Cox said on Friday. “That’s been one of my biggest struggles, for sure. And yet, there’s a willingness to try and that’s all I can ask for and hope for.”
Cox is confident Trump will win Utah, he said. However, he’s following the official nomination for the Democratic nominee with interest. There have been increasing calls for President Joe Biden to end his reelection bid after a poor debate performance and unsteady appearances at events and media appearances.
“Parties are just groups of people with a process that come together to select something. Now, the Democrats have already gone through a big part of that process,” Cox said, “but, now I guess their delegates would have an opportunity to vote for someone else and I think it’s healthy to have new choices in our country over time.”
Democratic nominee for Utah governor, Brian King, criticized Cox’s endorsement, saying that the governor is responding to “outside pressure, special interests, donors, and extremists in his party.”
“After publicly declaring just days ago that he would not vote for Donald Trump this November, Governor Cox has now kissed the ring and given his full endorsement to Trump, a convicted felon,” King wrote in a statement. “This is the same Trump who, just last night, called for mass deportations and lied about the 2020 election results.”
