former massachusetts gov. mitt romney on saturday said he and president-elect donald trump held a <u+201c>far-reaching conversation,<u+201d> as both men moved to reconcile after spending months attacking each other on a number of fronts. some advisers have encouraged mr. trump to consider mr. romney as secretary of state. saturday<u+2019>s meeting could have been a pivotal step toward that end. cupping his hands to his mouth, mr. trump shouted to reporters following the meeting, saying <u+201c>it went great,<u+201d> as mr. romney was approaching the press. it remains unclear, however, whether their meeting was a one-off discussion or part of a broader courtship that could bring mr. romney into the trump administration. many republicans leveled attacks at mr. trump during the presidential campaign, including mr. romney, who at one point called the real estate billionaire a <u+201c>con man<u+201d> and a <u+201c>fraud .<u+201d> on saturday, mr. romney spent more than 80 minutes at trump national golf club in bedminster, n.j. the unsuccessful 2012 gop presidential candidate has moved quickly to make amends since mr. trump<u+2019>s stunning nov. 8 victory over former secretary of state hillary clinton. in a brief statement to the press after the meeting, mr. romney didn<u+2019>t mention playing a role in the trump administration, but the types of issues he said the two discussed appeared to be similar to issues a secretary of state would address. <u+201c>we had a far-reaching conversation with regards to the various threats in the world where there are interests of the united states of real significance,<u+201d> mr. romney said. <u+201c>we discussed those areas, and exchanged our views on those topics<u+2014>a very thorough and in-depth discussion in the time we had. and i appreciate the chance to speak with the president-elect and i look forward to the coming administration and the things that it<u+2019>s going to be doing.<u+201d> mr. romney is one of several key figures meeting with mr. trump and vice president-elect mike pence this weekend at the golf club. immediately after mr. romney left the meeting, michelle rhee, former chancellor of public schools in washington, d.c., arrived. she is considered to be a candidate for secretary of education. <u+2018> we had a far-reaching conversation with regards to the various theaters in the world where there are interests of the united states of real significance. <u+2019> and shortly after she arrived, retired gen. james mattis entered the golf club. he is among candidates considered for secretary of defense, a person familiar with the situation has said. gen. mattis was at the golf club for a little more than an hour, though it wasn<u+2019>t immediately clear how long he met with mr. trump. after the meeting was over, mr. trump appeared to acknowledge gen. mattis was under consideration for the defense secretary post. the president-elect was asked by reporters whether he would choose the retired marine who had served as commander of u.s. central command for defense secretary, and mr. trump said <u+201c>we<u+2019>ll see. we<u+2019>ll see.<u+201d> <u+201c>he<u+2019>s just a brilliant, wonderful man,<u+201d> mr. trump said. <u+201c>what a career. we are going to see what happens, but he is the real deal. thank you.<u+201d> to be sure, mr. trump<u+2019>s characterization of gen. mattis<u+2019>s potential role seemed to be a common one on saturday. after gen. mattis left, mr. trump welcomed bob woodson, president of the center for neighborhood enterprise. reporters asked if mr. woodson could have a role in the trump administration, and mr. trump responded, <u+201c>we<u+2019>ll see. we<u+2019>ll see.<u+201d> mr. trump has undertaken dozens of meetings and phone calls to vet candidates for senior jobs in his administration and to solicit thoughts on how he should plan his agenda. some potential candidates for jobs, such as rep. jeb hensarling (r., texas), who met with mr. trump on thursday, have emerged from the talks saying they are willing to consider a top-level post if they are asked. mr. romney, in his comments on saturday, didn<u+2019>t go that far. mr. trump is looking at a number of candidates for secretary of state, people familiar with situation said. they include former new york mayor rudy giuliani, former u.s. ambassador to the united nations john bolton, and south carolina gov. nikki haley. corrections & amplifications: mitt romney said he and donald trump <u+201c>had a far reaching conversation with regards to the various theaters in the world where there are interests of the united states of real significance.<u+201d> an earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the quote. (nov. 20) write to damian paletta at damian.paletta@wsj.com
donald trump and mitt romney parley  after months of clashes  - wsj
damian paletta