washington<u+2014>kellyanne conway, a top adviser to president-elect donald trump, intensified her public effort<u+00a0>sunday<u+00a0>to scuttle mitt romney <u+2019>s chances of becoming secretary of state. making the rounds of the<u+00a0>sunday<u+00a0>shows, ms. conway suggested mr. romney<u+2019>s harsh critique of mr. trump<u+2019>s character and qualifications during the presidential campaign amounted to an unforgivable betrayal of the republican ticket. <u+201c>there was the never trump movement, and there was gov. mitt romney,<u+201d> ms. conway told abc<u+2019>s <u+201c>this week.<u+201d> <u+201c>he went out of his way to hurt donald trump.<u+201d> the president-elect has met with mr. romney to discuss the top diplomatic post, and people familiar with mr. trump<u+2019>s deliberations have said the former massachusetts governor has been under serious consideration. former new york city mayor rudy giuliani is also on the list of possible choices to lead the state department . ms. conway was vague as to whether mr. trump has blessed her anti-romney campaign, which began on twitter last week . asked by abc host martha raddatz whether she had cleared her attacks with the president-elect, ms. conway responded: <u+201c>i won<u+2019>t discuss that.<u+201d> later she tweeted that she had advised mr. trump against mr. romney, who was the 2012 republican presidential candidate. <u+201c>i did tell him privately,<u+201d> she tweeted. <u+201c>and i<u+2019>ll respect his decision.<u+201d> ms. conway told cnn<u+2019>s <u+201c>state of the union<u+201d> that she had been deluged with emails from trump supporters opposed to the idea of mr. romney<u+2019>s serving in the cabinet, an outpouring she described as <u+201c>just breathtaking in scope and intensity.<u+201d> mr. romney was among the most-outspoken trump critics during the election campaign. in march, mr. romney gave a pointed speech lambasting mr. trump<u+2019>s views and character. <u+201c>there<u+2019>s plenty of evidence that mr. trump is a con man, a fake,<u+201d> mr. romney said, adding that he is <u+201c>playing the members of the american public for suckers.<u+201d> <u+201c>his domestic policies would lead to recession,<u+201d> mr. romney said. <u+201c>his foreign policies would make america and the world less safe. he has neither the temperament nor the judgment to be president and his personal qualities would mean that america would cease to be a shining city on a hill.<u+201d> some on the right say mr. romney<u+2019>s role at state would comfort those worried about mr. trump<u+2019>s foreign-policy instincts. <u+201c>he<u+2019>d provide some stability and a calming effect internationally,<u+201d> conservative pundit erick erickson tweeted to ms. conway last week. <u+201c>trump would be smart to do it.<u+201d> ms. conway, who was mr. trump<u+2019>s campaign manager, said mr. trump has already taken steps to placate various factions within the gop. but she suggested that giving mr. romney such a prominent post would be a step too far. <u+201c>i<u+2019>m all for party unity, but i<u+2019>m not sure we have to pay for that with the secretary of state position,<u+201d> she told cnn. write to michael m. phillips at michael.phillips@wsj.com
kellyanne conway steps up attack on mitt romney  - wsj
michael m. phillips