The figure President Trump is reportedly expected to name as the State Department’s top spokeswoman repeatedly slammed the president during the 2016 Republican primary, once calling his behavior “disgusting,” according to a new report from CNN.
CNN, citing multiple public comments Morgan Ortagus made as Trump campaigned for the Republican presidential nomination, reported on Tuesday that she criticized Trump’s behavior and his foreign policy opinions.
{mosads}Ortagus, a national security analyst and former Fox News contributor, blasted Trump in January 2016 after he mocked people with physical and mental disabilities.
“You have somebody who makes fun of people with mental and physical disabilities. That’s disgusting; there’s no other way around it,” she said in a Fox News radio interview. “Quite frankly, I don’t want someone with the temperament of a middle school pubescent boy in the president’s office.”
Ortagus, who CNN reported was working for a super PAC associated with Trump’s primary opponent, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R), said on Fox News in April of that year that she and Trump had completely different views of America’s role internationally.
“In his gut, he does not think that Americans should be, quote unquote, the policemen of the world,” she said. “I don’t see it that way. I think that America is the glue that holds the world together. … So there were points that I agreed with him today, but overall, I fundamentally disagree with his isolationist approach to foreign policy.”
CNN noted that Ortagus became a vocal supporter of Trump’s after he secured the Republican presidential nomination. She did not respond to the news network’s request for comment.
A White House official declined to comment about Ortagus’ critical commentary. But the official told CNN that Ortagus has built a strong relationship with those inside the administration.
The White House did not immediately return a request for comment from The Hill.
Reports surfaced last week that Trump was expected to name Ortagus as the next State Department spokesperson. She would fill the role once assumed by Heather Nauert, who left her post when Trump nominated her for ambassador to the United Nations.
A senior administration official noted to CNN that a formal announcement has yet to take place. Sources close to her told the news network that she is in good standing with Trump.
Ortagus is a U.S. Naval Reserve Officer who worked as an intelligence analyst for the Treasury Department for three years during the Obama administration. She also co-founded the consulting firm
Global Opportunity Advisers with CNN analyst Samantha Vinograd.
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