Mitt Romney Called Trump a “Con Man,” Lost Chance to Become Secretary of State

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Days after Mitt Romney's uncomfortable dinner with Donald Trump and Rex Tillerson became the Secretary of State pick, a new report says that Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, would've gotten the role if he'd apologized for his negative remarks about the president-elect during the campaign.

CNN and the Washington Post are now reporting that Donald Trump was toying with giving Romney the Secretary of State position on the condition that he issue a public apology. During an event in Utah this past March, Romney called Trump "a con man, a fake, and a phony" and said that Republican nominee was "playing us for suckers."

However, there are two different stories emerging as to who wanted an apology from Romney and why. Some speculate that Trump wanted Romney to publicly refute his previous statements as a way to quell tensions within the cabinet, specifically with chief of staff pick Reince Priebus and vice president-elect Mike Pence.

Others point to Trump's love of groveling and having people "owe him," and say the president-elect was uncomfortable having someone on his cabinet who had directly undermined him previously.

While Trump spokesperson Jason Miller says the rumors of Trump demanding an apology are completely false, leaks in the Trump camp are common, and the Washington Post's source is allegedly a "Trump friend."
Considering that there are already grave concerns about Tillerson's ties to Russia, many are left wondering if Romney should've just apologized so that someone with more experience could be in the critical position.