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Trump Meets with Critic Mitt Romney and Other Potential Administration
Officials

by VOA News

   President-elect Donald Trump meets Saturday with Mitt Romney, one of
   Trump's harshest Republican critics who is now being mentioned as a
   potential candidate for secretary of state.

   The relationship between Trump and Romney has been contentious, but
   transition team vice chairman and newly-named attorney general
   candidate Jeff Sessions has urged Trump to consider Romney for a
   position in the incoming administration.

   Trump's meeting with Romney, the unsuccessful 2012 Republican
   presidential candidate, could be perceived by many as a move toward
   reconciliation with more mainstream Republican leaders.

   In a speech last March, Romney blasted Trump as a "con man" and a
   "fraud." The president-elect responded by saying Romney "choked like a
   dog" in his election bid, repeatedly calling Romney a "loser." Their
   relationship began to thaw after Romney called Trump to congratulate
   him on his surprising presidential victory.

   Trump is considering multiple people for the nation's top diplomatic
   post, including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former U.S.
   Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, Senator Bob Corker and
   South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.

   FILE - President-elect Donald Trump and former House Speaker Newt
   Gingrich share the stage during a campaign rally in Cincinnati, July 6,
   2016.

   Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was also mentioned as a candidate
   for secretary of state but withdrew his name from consideration
   Thursday after deciding to support Trump as an outside adviser.

   If Trump selects Romney for secretary of state, they will have to
   overcome their differences over Russia. In 2012, Romney described
   Russia as America's "No. 1 geopolitical foe."

   The president-elect has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and
   expressed the desire to collaborate with Russia in a campaign to
   destroy Islamic State. After a telephone conversation Monday between
   Trump and Putin, Trump issued a statement saying he anticipated having
   a "strong and enduring relationship with Russia."

   Trump and Romney will meet in the northeastern U.S. town of
   Bedminister, New Jersey, home to the Trump National Golf Club.

   The president-elect will also meet there with retired General James
   Mattis, who is reportedly being considered for secretary of defense.
   Mattis, a former war commander, has repeatedly expressed concern about
   security threats presented by Iran. Also being considered for defense
   chief are retired Army General David Petraeus and Army General Jack
   Keane.

   Trump is also expected to meet Saturday with education reformist
   Michelle Rhee, anti-poverty advocate Bob Woodson, politician and
   education advocate Betsy Devos, Chicago Cubs owner and campaign
   fundraiser Todd Ricketts, CKE Restaurants CEO Andy Puzder, and
   financier Lew Eisenberg.

   The real estate mogul spent part of his Saturday morning on Twitter
   demanding an apology from from Brandon Victor Dixon, a cast member of
   the award-winning Broadway play "Hamilton." After the curtain call on
   Friday evening, Dixon told audience member and Vice President-elect
   Mike Pence that the play's multiracial and multicultural cast was
   concerned about the incoming Trump administration. Pence left the
   theatre before Dixon finished his remarks.

   Also on Twitter Saturday morning, Trump defended his decision to settle
   lawsuits over his Trump University real estate seminars for $25 million
   dollars. The lawsuits created considerable controversy for his
   presidential campaign when he claimed the judge overseeing two of the
   cases was biased because his Mexican ancestry
   prevented from being impartial due to Trump's pledge to build a wall
   along the border the U.S. shares with Mexico.

   "I settled the Trump University lawsuit for a small fraction of the
   potential award because as President I have to focus on our country,"
   Trump tweeted.

   "The ONLY bad thing about winning the Presidency is that I did not have
   the time to go through a long but winning trial on Trump U. Too bad!,"
   he said in a second tweet on the issue.

   New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said the agreement came
   after Trump repeatedly refused "to settle for even modest amounts of
   compensation for the victims of his phony university."

   More than 6,000 students maintained they were seduced by false promises
   that prompted them to pay up to $35,000 to learn Trump's real estate
   investing secrets from select Trump instructors. Trump's lawyers denied
   the claims.