Arlington cemetery controversy shines spotlight on Utah Gov. Spencer Cox’s sudden embrace of Trump

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A few months ago, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox was one of the few prominent Republicans consistently keeping his distance from Donald Trump, whose brash style seemed to be the antithesis of a brand of politics Cox had carefully cultivated that centered on unity and respect.

Cox did not vote for Trump in 2016 or 2020, and told CNN in July that he would not vote for him this year. The governor said the then-president’s role in inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol went too far.

Days later, after an assassination attempt on Trump at a Pennsylvania rally, Cox changed his mind.

Cox sent a letter to Trump explaining that his defiant response at the moment of the shooting had spurred a sudden reassessment and switch for Cox.

His turnabout bewildered political observers who, for the past decade, have watched Cox methodically build a persona as a moderate in the manner of Mitt Romney, the Utah senator who was the Republican presidential nominee in 2012, while climbing the ranks of state leadership.

Cox, 49, said in his note that he believed Trump could save the country “by emphasizing unity rather than hate.”

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