Hoping to placate establishment Republicans, President-elect Donald Trump met with 2012 GOP nominee former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney Oct. 19 at his New Jersey golf club. Roiling Trump loyalists, Romney was one of Trump’s fiercest critics, holding a PR event at the University of Utah Center for International Relations March 3, calling Trump a “fraud,” “phony” and “con man,” hoping to derail Trump’s juggernaut to the nomination. Romney’s ugly words vaporized quickly, with Trump marching to wrap up the GOP nomination May 3, putting an end to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tx.) and Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s bids for president. Trump loyalists want no part of Mitt unless he publicly apologizes for his past vitriol, still lingering with many on Trump’s transition team. Picking Romney to placate establishment Republicans does nothing to advance Trump’s foreign policy agenda.
When Romney lost to President Barack Obama in 2012, he showed no expertise in foreign policy, preferring to criticize Obama’s economic policies. Publishing more good news about the economy, the Federal Reserve Board and Commerce Department upended Romney’s message that Obama’s economy was running downhill. Romney’s knowledge of foreign policy impressed no one in 2012. Showing he could get over bad blood with Mitt, Trump wanted to throw a bone to “Never Trump” Republicans, unfortunately not enough reason to pick Romney as Secretary of State. Romney generally follows war hawks and Neocons on Capitol Hill led by 80-year-old Sen. John McCain (R-Az.), Chairman of the Senate Armed Servies Committee. McCain promises to give Trump fits because of his strong support of rebel groups seeking to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Picking Romney would put Trump at odds with his Secretary of State on Syria, where Trump has called for an end to backing Syrian opposition groups. Romney called the Kremlin in 2012 the biggest foreign policy threat to the U.S., not Islamic terrorism. With Trump looking for a major reset with Russia, Romney’s not the guy, agreeing 100% with McCain that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s an untrustworthy KGB agent. Forget Romney’s past name-calling, he’s incompatible with Trump’s stated objective of resetting relations with Putin. Trump said he wants to join forces with Russia and eradicate the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS]. Already bogged down fighting ISIS in Mosul and anticipating even more resistance in Raqqa, Syria, the U.S. needs all the help it can get from its allies. Working with Russia will end ISIS’s terror rampage more quickly.
Whatever Mitt told Trump Oct. 19, he didn’t admit that he 100% backs McCain’s anti-Kremlin foreign policy. McCain urged Obama Oct. 12 to set up a no-fly zone around Aleppo, where McCain’s favorite rebel groups have been camped out since 2012. With Russian and Syrian air strikes occurring daily to dislodge rebel groups, a no-fly zone would increase the chances of a mishap. McCain went so far to encourage Obama to shoot down Syrian or Russian war planes if they breach the no-fly zone, something that could trigger WWIII. McCain’s statements were so disturbing it prompted German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeir to warn the U.S. against irresponsible provocation. McCain’s anti-Russian foreign policy parallels Obama, who drove U.S.-Russian relations to the lowest point since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Romney holds the same views as McCain.
Objections to Romney as Secretary of State from Trump’s transition team stems from Mitt’s past criticism. “Here’s what I know. Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud. His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University,” Romney said March 3 in Salt Lake City. “He’s playing the members of the American public for suckers. He gets a free ride to the White house and all we get is a lousy hat,” Mitt went on to denounce Trump. Trump’s former campaign manager and now transition spokeswoman Kellyanne Conway shared the objections to Romney. “I am struck by the intensity and volume of resistance [to Romney] from the grassroots, words like ‘betrayal,’” said Kellyanne. Raising objections to Romney from Trump’s transition team, makes his pick all the more unlikely. Leading the pack now, former New York Mayor Rudi Giuliani looks primed for the position.
Picking Romney to placate establishment Republicans would send the exact wrong message to Trump’s fiercely loyal base. They voted for Trump over Democratic nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton precisely because they agreed with his foreign policy views. Hillary, like McCain, wanted to set up a no-fly zone in Syria, promising to follow the Obama policy of backing Syrian rebel groups to topple al-Assad. Obama, Hillary and McCain know that backing Syrian opposition groups has directly pitted the U.S. and against Russia, prompting Steinmeir to warn against WWIII. Trump’s Secretary of State, above all else, must be on the same page of resetting relations with Moscow, eradicating ISIS and ending the six-year-old Syrian War. Romney looks closely aligned with McCain, promising to give Trump fits on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
