After ripping into the GOP over the weekend, former presidential contender Jon Huntsman on Tuesday reiterated his commitment to backing Mitt Romney -- but remained critical of the near-certain Republican nominee.
Huntsman, who served as governor of Utah and was appointed ambassador to China by President Barack Obama in 2009, fired away at the Republican Party over the weekend during an interview with prominent journalist Jeff Greenfield in New York. Despite initial high hopes, Huntsman flopped as a presidential candidate, finishing a distant third in the New Hampshire primary, where he focused heavily, behind Romney and Ron Paul before pulling out of the race to back Romney.
During the interview, Huntsman slammed his former rivals for the Republican presidential nomination, insisting they were wrong for trying to get tough with China and saying he wondered is this the best we can do when he faced the other candidates in his first debate. Huntsman also said Ronald Reagan would probably not be able to win the Republican presidential nomination if he ran today.
Huntsman was also critical of the reaction from Republicans after he suggested a third party was needed in March when he ended his bid for the GOP nomination. These comments led Huntsman to be disinvited from speaking at a Republican fundraiser in Florida -- leading Huntsman to tell Greenfield that the GOP is following the playbook of the communist regime in China.
"This is what they do in China on party matters," Huntsman said. They punish you, if you talk off script.
Despite those comments, Huntsman said Tuesday that he still backed Romney in the presidential election
In an appearance on CNBC on Tuesday, Huntsman was asked if he remained 100 percent committed to backing Romney.
"Absolutely, I am, Huntsman said. Listen, the economic message is going to carry the day in November, and I think that message will resonate -- or not -- through the critically important industrial states in the Midwest.
Huntsman pointed to that region as the critical battleground in the general election between Obama and Romney.
These are gonna be the states that will tell the story in November. I think it's about recovery, it's about rebuilding our manufacturing muscle in this country, and about the prospects for job creation thats going to do it, Huntsman said before going on to praise Romney. I think he's best-positioned by virtue of his own background training to be able to provide that leadership."
Still, Huntsman did throw a jab at his former rival for the Republican presidential nomination.
He didnt do real tax reform as governor, Huntsman said.
Despite Huntsmans insistence that he is backing Romney, there remains speculation that he could be looking at other options. Huntsmans name has received some support from backers who want to see him as Americans Elects candidate and are active at that organizations website.
As of early Tuesday afternoon, an effort to draft Huntsman for the Americans Elect nomination had garnered the support of more than 3,100 supporters -- placing him second behind Ron Paul among potential draft candidates. More than 8,200 Paul supporters are backing an effort to draft their candidate for the Americans Elect nomination. While Paul was the Libertarian Partys presidential nominee in 1988 and offered his blessing to some third-party candidates in 2008, he has said he has no intention of leaving the GOP in 2012.
Huntsman has less support than Buddy Roemer, the former Louisiana governor who is actively seeking the Americans Elect nomination. Roemer, who is also seeking the nomination of the Reform Party, has almost 3,800 supporters backing him for the Americans Elect nomination. Huntsman does have more supporters than the second strongest candidate actively seeking the Americans Elect line -- former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson. Anderson, who is the candidate of the fledgling Justice Party, has more than 2,200 supporters at the Americans Elect site.
Reflecting on his interview with Huntsman, Greenfield penned a piece published on Tuesday in which he argues that the former Utah governor will soon leave the Republicans.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
