Huckabee, Gingrich slam possibility of Mitt Romney as secretary of state

Two of President-elect Donald Trump's most ardent supporters slammed the possibility of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) as the next secretary of states in separate Fox News appearances in the past 24 hours.

Former Arkansas Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee, who quickly supported Trump once he ended his own 2016 presidential bid, attacked Romney on Fox News' "Fox and Friends" Wednesday morning as he argued that a Romney appointment would be an "insult" to Trump's supporters.

"I'm still very unhappy that Mitt did everything he could to derail Donald Trump," Huckabee said. "He didn't just go after him from a point of saying, 'I disagree with his policy on immigration, I disagree with his policy on taxes.' He attacked him on a personal level about his character and integrity, his honor."

"When you go after the person who is the nominee of your party, who has been duly nominated by the voters, and then you're savaging the voters — you're not just savaging Donald Trump," Huckabee continued. "So it would be a real insult to all those Donald Trump voters who worked really hard."

.@GovMikeHuckabee: Choosing Mitt Romney as Secretary of State would be a big insult to all those who voted for Trump pic.twitter.com/hizFmHCEvJ

— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) November 23, 2016

And former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told Fox News' Tucker Carlson Tuesday night that he could "think of 20 other people who would be more naturally compatible with the Trump vision of foreign policy."

Gingrich was considered a leading candidate to be Trump's running mate before the Manhattan businessman selected Indiana Gov. Mike Pence. He has since announced that he will not be in Trump's Cabinet.

"I think the vast majority of Trump's supporters will initially be very unhappy, and we'll be reminded of all the things Romney said over the year," Gingrich said Tuesday.

Gingrich added that as Romney "represents a very different viewpoint" and insinuated that the former Massachusetts governor might be more apt to "represent himself" instead of Trump's policies.

Romney, who met with Trump in New Jersey over the weekend, is being considered for a Cabinet position in Trump's administration — more specifically, to head the State Department, according to sources within Trump's transition team.

But the 2012 Republican nominee was a vocal critic of Trump's throughout the campaign season.

During a scathing March speech in Salt Lake City, Utah, Romney encouraged Republicans to elect a handful of other GOP presidential contenders as the party's nominee as he blasted Trump as a "phony" and "fraud."

"His is not the temperament of a stable, thoughtful leader," Romney said then. "His imagination must not be married to real power."

Following Romney's meeting with Trump in New Jersey, Pence told CBS that Trump was "grateful" for Romney's visit with him and confirmed that he is under "active" consideration for secretary of state.

Also a zealous critic of Trump's during the campaign was South Carolina GOP Gov. Nikki Haley. However, she accepted his offer to become the next United Nations ambassador Wednesday.

Huckabee was rumored to be the next ambassador to Israel, but Trump's team have denied those reports.