Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney says he was surprised he got a call from President-elect Donald Trump to potentially serve as the next secretary of state, but that he took it as a sign that Mr. Trump is open to hearing from critics.
“I was more than a little surprised that the president-elect reached out to me to potentially serve as secretary of state of the United States,” Mr. Romney wrote in a letter published by the Salt Lake Tribune over the weekend.
“I see it as a welcome sign that he will be open to alternative views and even to critics,” said Mr. Romney, the 2012 GOP presidential nominee.
“As the country’s next president, I earnestly hope that he will be successful in fostering greater prosperity and peace. I believe all Americans can join in that wish,” Mr. Romney wrote.
Mr. Romney, a leading anti-Trump Republican during the campaign, acknowledged that he was “very critical” of the president-elect.
“But now he has been elected president and accordingly, if I could have helped shape foreign policy to protect the country I love, I would have been more than willing to do so,” he said.
Mr. Trump ultimately picked ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his nominee to be the next secretary of state.
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