Romney says he's not for or against Trump. He wants to be an independent voice

David DeMille | The Spectrum

U.S. Senate candidate Mitt Romney dismissed assertions Tuesday that he's either "for or against" President Donald Trump, saying he wants to maintain an independent voice if elected.

Comments that Romney made during a political retreat he hosted in Park City over the weekend, including an assertion that he expects President Donald Trump to get re-elected in 2020, sparked questions about how the former Massachusetts governor and longtime Trump critic might approach a spot in Congress: Would he be a type of countermeasure voice, like sitting GOP Sens. Jeff Flake and John McCain of Arizona, that would speak out against some of the president's policies, or as part of a party base that has fallen largely in line behind the president, wherever that might take them.

In an interview with The Spectrum & Daily News on Tuesday, Romney was dismissive of both lines of thinking, arguing he reserved the right to voice his support when he felt it was due or to speak out against Trump when he feels it is warranted.

"I don't think of myself as being in a box," he said. "I will support the president when his policies are good for Utah and the nation."

So far, Trump has "exceeded my expectations," Romney said, pointing to the president's approval last year of a sweeping tax-cut plan and his backing off of threats to impose 45 percent tariffs on trade partners.

"At the same time, if he were to do or say something that was highly divisive or racist or anti-woman or anti-immigrant, I will point that out," he said.

Mitt Romney on North Korea talks, Trump, Utah Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mitt Romney stopped by The Spectrum & Daily News office to discuss his take on current events and his campaign plans Tuesday, June 12, 2018.

Reserving judgment

Trump's whirlwind weekend in foreign affairs provided ample opportunity for either praise or criticism.

After arriving late and limiting his participation at the Group of Seven summit in Canada, Trump blasted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Twitter and refused to endorse a joint statement with other Western powers.

Then the president headed to Singapore for a high-profile meetup with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump signed a historic agreement between the two countries to work toward denuclearization in Korea but drew criticism for making concessions without getting firm commitments from the other side.

Romney said he was encouraged by the meeting with Kim, saying "principled conversation is the best prospect for making progress," but he noted that "there's still a lot of work to do."

Regarding the G-7 summit, Romney said he wanted to reserve judgment until the president had a chance to work through the trade "negotiations" he is seeking.

Romney said although trade wars and broad-based tariffs would not be good for Utah or the rest of the U.S., he agreed with Trump that certain countries, especially China, are engaging in unfair trade practices.

Asked if he considered Canada to be one of them, Romney said America's northern neighbor "has been a wonderful ally and extensive trade partner," but he thinks he would want to see where Trump is going with his trade negotiations.

"I'm interested in seeing where we're going to go with all this, but I hope we focus on China," Romney said.

Campaign push in southwestern Utah

Romney has dominated recent polling in the race to replace outgoing U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, but he isn't walking into the seat without a challenge.

He's in a primary race against Republican state Rep. Mike Kennedy, a physician and lawyer who actually beat Romney among the delegates at the party's April convention.

If Romney wins the June 26 primary, he will face Salt Lake County Councilwoman Jenny Wilson, the Democratic Party nominee, along with several third-party and independent candidates in the November election.

They are Libertarian Craig Bowden, Constitution Party candidate Tim Aalders, Independent American Party candidate Reed McCandless and unaffiliated write-in candidates Caleb Reeve and Abe Korb.

Early voting started Tuesday, and many voters have already received ballots by mail.

To boost support, Romney has traveled to all 29 counties over the past few months, typically driving a 2002 pickup truck and wearing blue jeans to the state's many rural areas.

Romney has been trying hard to make an appeal to southwestern Utah, where Hatch has been involved in local issues like the Lake Powell Pipeline and a "northern corridor" highway across the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve.

Romney has backed state policies on public lands. He has also supported ongoing efforts by Utah's congressional delegation to rewrite the nation's Antiquities Act, which grants presidential power to set aside national monuments, and to codify Trump's recent shrinking of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments.

Southwestern Utah has a recent history of backing underdog candidates, and while the state as a whole was resistant to voting for Trump in 2016, giving him only 45 percent of the vote, Washington County loved the former reality television star, giving him nearly 70 percent.

Romney has played up his local roots — his great-great grandfather helped build St. George's historic Tabernacle building — and vowed to represent local issues better in Washington, D.C., because he could have more influence than the typical junior senator.

Friends in high places

Kennedy has mounted frequent criticisms of Romney as an outsider, a former governor of an Eastern state who grew up in Michigan and moved to Utah in recent years only as a ploy to parlay his popularity here into elected office.

"I knew Utah like the back of my hand," Kennedy said last week as he spoke to a crowd at a campaign event in St. George. "He knows Washington (D.C.) like the back of his hand."

But Romney has long been popular in the Beehive State, where he shares membership in the state's predominant religion, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is also where he gained a reputation as an effective leader after helping with the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. He won 73 of the state's vote in the 2012 presidential election, and his involvement in the race sparked record numbers of voters to hit the polls.

He has been endorsed by Hatch, who claims to have asked Romney to run as his replacement, as well as Gov. Gary Herbert, former Gov. Mike Leavitt and a number of other prominent names in Utah politics.

And he doesn't shy away from having connections and experience behind him, saying he thinks it would make him a better lawmaker.

He is the keynote speaker at today's business summit at the Dixie Convention Center, hosted by the St. George Area Chamber of Commerce. It's the latest in a series of appearances where he's been invited to take part in while campaigning.

In March, he joined U.S. Reps. Chris Stewart and Rob Bishop for a panel discussion on public lands policy at Dixie State University.

"Having had a business career where I was involved in investing and helping to manage one of the largest private equity firms in the world, having been a governor, having been picked to run for president, I will get requested as a speaker or an observer on matters related to economic development," he said.

Follow David DeMille on Twitter, @SpectrumDeMille.