Utah political leaders react to Gov. Spencer Cox’s endorsement of Donald Trump

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox reversed his longtime position on Donald Trump in the wake of the July 13 assassination attempt, publicly endorsing the former president and expressing the belief that he would be a more unifying figure than in the past.

Cox’s about-face arrived one month after a contentious GOP primary contest that saw state Rep. Phil Lyman repeatedly attack him for criticizing Trump and refusing to offer Trump his support. And it came just one week after Cox said in a CNN interview he would not vote for Trump.

“None of this was based on a calculus,” Cox said last week about why he changed his mind. “This was all based just on these intense feelings that I’ve had over the course of the past week and the past year.”

Why did Gov. Cox endorse Trump?

Cox communicated his change of heart to the GOP presidential nominee last week in a personal, hand-delivered letter. The Deseret News first reported Cox’s intentions to endorse Trump hours before his Friday press conference where he clarified the extent of his support. Cox said he would vote for Trump for the first time in November, after writing in candidates in the 2016 and 2020 general elections.

The governor, known for his “Disagree Better” depolarization initiative, said he hoped his support for Trump could help the candidate “lower the temperature in this country.” Cox said he believed Trump had already started to do this in his, and his wife Melania’s, statements following his close brush with death.

“People have been trying to ask him to do this for eight years and he’s never said things like he said in the past week,” Cox said. “I’m not naive to think that would be a total change or anything like that. ... But I’ve made my commitment that I will do this, and as a man of my word, I’ll follow through with that commitment.”

While Cox says his decision to support Trump was not made out of political expediency, the U-turn elicited strong reactions from Utah’s political leaders, ranging from excitement, to relief, to disappointment and condemnation.

Utah Republicans glad to have Cox on board

Utah GOP Chair Rob Axson welcomed Cox getting aboard the Trump train in a statement posted on Friday.

“Gov. Cox knows that our country must unify and change course,” the statement read. “By joining us in rallying behind President Trump, Cox can be an example for others still deciding what to do.”

In an interview with the Deseret News on Monday, Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, said he was grateful Cox unified himself with the majority of Republicans in Utah and across the country.

“I wish it would have come sooner but I understand some of the concerns that the governor had,” Schultz said. “Better late than never.”

Schultz said he had tried “multiple times” to get Cox “on board with Donald Trump” before the assassination attempt “with no success.” The decision was made on Cox’s terms and without electoral consequences in mind, according to Schultz.

“I know it’s sincere,” he said. “He fully understands the political consequences of him not supporting President Trump. That was clear because he never endorsed him during the primary.”

Utah’s gubernatorial general election could reveal how independents or anti-Trump Republicans react to the endorsement from Cox, who Politico recently called “the new face of Trump skepticism on the right.”

King criticizes Cox for Trump endorsement

On Friday, Cox’s Democratic opponent accused Cox of giving in to pressure to support Trump. State Rep. Brian King, D-Salt Lake City, said the endorsement was an example of “Cox not sticking to principles(.)”

“You deserve a governor who won’t leave you wondering if today’s the day he’ll have the political courage to do what’s right, or if he’ll continue pandering to outside pressure, special interests, donors, and extremists in his party,” King said.

Former Republican state Sen. Stuart Reid, who said he left the GOP after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, was also disappointed by Cox’s endorsement. Reid said he had worked with Cox during his time at the Capitol and viewed him as “very principled and a man of honor.”

“He’s dishonored himself by endorsing and voting for an individual that, frankly, is the most disruptive and divisive politician in our history,” Reid told the Deseret News in an interview on Monday.

Reid is skeptical of Cox’s stated motivation to be a voice helping to “to unify our nation, ... to lower the temperature and to reduce political violence.”

“I don’t think it’s believable ... to think that by making this move he is going to somehow change Trump,” Reid said. “The man is nearly 80 years old, he’s not going to be reformed at this point.”

During his Friday press conference, Cox conceded that being a unifying figure “hasn’t been high on (Trump’s) list in the past.”

“I know that former President Trump isn’t very good at it — hasn’t been for a long time. 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 said.

“Change is hard for all of us. And it’s probably harder the older we get,” Cox continued. “I know it is for me. But what we have seen and heard is that he is very interested in this.”