2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney after eating dinner with President-elect Donald Trump at Jean-Georges restaurant on Tuesday night in New York. AP Evan Vucci Mitt Romney had some glowing words about President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday night after the two men met for dinner in New York.

Romney is one of the top candidates to be Trump's secretary of state. Speaking to the press on his way out of the Jean-Georges restaurant in Manhattan on Tuesday night, Romney said he thought the president-elect "can lead us to that better future."

The former Massachusetts governor and 2012 GOP presidential nominee applauded the Trump transition team and the incoming president for his Cabinet selections thus far. He specifically praised Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina, who was selected as UN ambassador; Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, who got the nod for attorney general; and Rep. Tom Price of Georgia, who was chosen Tuesday to be Trump's health and human services secretary.

Romney added:

"What I've seen through these discussions I've had with President-elect Trump, as well as what we've seen in his speech on the night of his victory, as well as the people he's selected as part of his transition — all of those things combined give me increasing hope that President-elect Trump is the man who can lead us to that better future."

Romney met with Trump earlier this month and has seemingly emerged as a frontrunner for secretary of state. Trump has also met in recent days with former CIA Director David Petraeus and Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee about the position. Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor, was an early favorite for the job, but he has seemed to fall out of favor over the past few weeks.

The Romney development caught many both inside and outside Trump's inner circle by surprise. The 2012 Republican nominee was one of Trump's harshest critics, at one point calling him a "phony" and a "fraud" on the campaign trail.

Word of Romney's potential appointment was met with rhetorical boos from Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway last week. She continued her public crusade against Romney on the Sunday political talk shows, warning Trump that his supporters would feel "betrayed" if he selected Romney. Trump was reportedly "furious" at her public comments.

Watch Romney's comments below: