Romney: Trump has gotten off to a ‘strong start’

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is praising President Trump’s “strong start,” citing his early push to fulfill various campaign pledges.

“We’re all watching with interest. 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,” Romney told the Deseret News on Friday.

The 2012 GOP presidential nominee acknowledged that Trump has faced “some bumps in the road.”

Trump has issued a series of executive orders, but has faced huge backlash over his Jan. 27 order denying entry to nationals from seven predominantly Muslim countries.

{mosads}

The executive order sparked a flurry of lawsuits challenging the ban’s constitutionality and was temporarily stopped nationwide by a Bush-appointed federal judge on Friday.

“I expressed honestly what my belief was with regards to temperament and character. 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,” Romney said.

Romney also said that he did not regret being considered for secretary of State, a job that went to Exxon Mobile CEO Rex Tillerson, who was confirmed by the Senate this week.

“I had very good meetings with, at that point, President-elect Trump,” Romney told the Deseret News, praising the newly-elected president for being “willing to talk to me, given the fact that I had been so critical.”