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In a reversal of previous statements, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said he would now vote for and endorse former President Donald Trump in the upcoming election during a monthly news conference on Friday.
Cox didn’t vote for Trump in the last two elections, instead writing in a candidate. In an interview with CNN last week, he said he would do the same this November, citing concerns with the former president’s actions, including the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
His change in opinion came after the attempted assassination of Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania last Saturday.
“I spent the night distraught, worried about our nation and what we’ve become and who we are,” Cox said. “I just felt that I needed to write a letter to the former president.”
That letter, which was dated July 14 and shared publicly Friday morning, expressed support for Trump, with Cox pledging to help him bring the country together.
“You have the opportunity to do something that no other person on earth can do right now: unify and save our country,” Cox wrote in the letter.
Cox, known for his “Disagree Better” initiative, also said during the news conference that he appreciated Trump commenting on the need to “lower the temperature” during his nomination acceptance speech Thursday night at the Republic National Convention.
“I know that former President Trump isn’t very good at it, hasn’t been for a long time,” Cox said. “And yet, there’s a willingness to try. And that’s all I can ask for and hope for.”
When asked if he expects Trump’s campaign to follow through with those unifying promises, Cox said he’s not naive enough to think there will be a total change in Trump, but believes the assassination attempt has caused introspection within the former president.
“He’s never said things like he said in the past week,” Cox said. “And so I’m very hopeful ... that we’ll see more of this.”
Cox also said he feels more confident than ever Trump will win Utah and the presidential election in November.
“Right now, I don’t think it’s close,” Cox said, noting Trump’s lead in recent polls. “He doesn’t need my help to win at all, that’s just going to happen.”
In response to Cox’s shift in opinion, Brian King, the democratic nominee for Utah governor this November, claimed that Cox had “kissed the ring” of Trump and caved to outside pressure rather than sticking to his principles.
“This is the same Trump who, just last night, called for mass deportations and lied about the 2020 election results,” King said in a social media post.
Other issues addressed during Friday's news conference included immigration, public lands, the Great Salt Lake and water conservation, and the opioid addiction crisis.
