Mitt Romney Out As Secretary of State: Reports

It's not Mitt.

After a reality show-esque, "will he, won't he" dance, President-elect Donald Trump is expected to pass on appointing former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney Secretary of State.

That's according to multiple reports out Saturday, including from the New York Times.

There and elsewhere, reporters cite sources who say Rex Tillerson is the expected pick, while noting it is unofficial and Trump could yet change his mind.

Tillerson is the CEO of Exxon Mobil with close business ties to Russia. In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, friends and associates said "no U.S. citizen was closer to Russian President Vladimir Putin than Tillerson."

Read More: Donald Trump Expected to Pick Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State, Reports Say

Romney, once one of Trump's leading detractors on the right, was considered one of the top contenders for the job, after making an abrupt, post-election about-face. He met with the President-elect on multiple occasions, and spoke in glowing terms about a man whose foreign policy strategy he had once called "dangerous."

Trump's apparent decision to pass on Romney is perhaps less surprising than their initial flirtation with the cabinet post.

There's ordinary campaign rhetoric, and then there was Romney and Trump.

The 2012 Republican candidate publicly derided Trump as a "phony," a "con-man" and a "fraud." Trump, in turn, told his supporters Romney "choked like a dog" when he lost his presidential bid, repeatedly calling him "weak" and a "failed candidate."

Then, there was the fierce, public backlash against the Romney pick from Trump's inner-circle.

That's not to mention the two men's stark ideological differences, including one particularly glaring contradiction.

Trump has repeatedly said he anticipates having a "great relationship" with Russia and getting along well with its president, Vladimir Putin. Romney by contrast has consistently cast Russia as one of the United States' great enemies, saying during a 2012 presidential debate, "I'm not going to wear rose-colored glasses when it comes to Russia or Mr. Putin."

As Secretary of State, Romney would have had to bridge or resolve different schools of thought between himself and the president on that and other issues.

Read More:

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• SNL Lampoons Mitt Romney's Dinner With Donald Trump
• Mitt Romney Meets with Donald Trump Again; But Is It All a Ruse?
• Donald Trump: 'Don't Reward Mitt Romney'
• Mitt Romney Not Feeling the Love from Trump Camp
• If Mitt Romney Could Do It All Over Again...
• Mitt Romney On Donald Trump: 'Phony,' 'Fraud,' Con Man'

Images by Gage Skidmore, Flickr/Creative Commons