Mitt Romney says President Trump is “off to a very strong start” in fulfilling his campaign promises.

The 2012 Republican nominee told the Deseret News on Friday that while Mr. Trump wasn’t his first pick to lead the nation, he’s holding out hope that the president will be a success.

“The campaign is over,” Mr. Romney said. “I think we come together with hope. And there are encouraging signs on a number of fronts and I’m holding on to those at this stage.”

Mr. Romney said the president has pursued his agenda “with vigor.”

“We’re all watching with interest,” he said. “He’s obviously gotten off to a very strong start in terms of making a series of executive orders and making the changes that he promised during the campaign.”

Despite his praise, Mr. Romney said he has no regrets about labeling Mr. Trump a “fraud” and a “phony” during a speech last year.

“I expressed honestly what my belief was with regards to temperament and character,” he told the Deseret News. “Now the time has come for us to recognize we have a new president and we have hopes he will be successful leading our country.”

Mr. Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, also said he’s keeping his options open as far as what his next career move will be.

“I don’t have any predictions on what I might do. I’m not going to open a door and I’m not going to close a door. All doors are open,” he said after mentioning the 2018 Senate race, the Deseret News reported.

“I’m not looking forward to anything political at the national level,” he added. “We’ve got some races coming up here in Utah that are going to be interesting. We’ll see what happens on that front.”

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