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- Gov. Spencer Spencer Cox will attend a dinner with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago.
- Cox's relationship with Trump has evolved, despite past criticism and non-support in elections.
SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Gov. Spencer Cox will join other governors for a dinner with President-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida, on Thursday, according to Cox's publicly available schedule.
Cox's office said they do not know how many, or which, other governors are invited.
The visit takes place one day after Cox's second inauguration ceremony and comes less than two weeks before Trump retakes the White House.
For nearly a decade, Trump's sprawling resort has been the destination for Republicans seeking to curry favor with the former, and now future, president.
Since Trump's election in November, a steady stream of conservative leaders and Cabinet hopefuls have made the pilgrimage to the home of the GOP's standard-bearer.
This week, between Jan. 10 and Jan. 12, different groups of House Republicans will meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, NBC News reported on Sunday. The groups will include members of the House Freedom Caucus and chairs of key committees.
Cox's invitation to Mar-a-Lago represents another step in the Utah governor's newfound relationship with Trump.
Cox entered office a firm critic of Trump and remained so throughout the majority of his first term, choosing not to vote for him in 2016 and 2020 and calling for Trump to resign following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Following the Butler County, Pennsylvania, assassination attempt against Trump in July, Cox reversed his longtime position of distancing himself from the former president and endorsed him.
Cox said that his about face on Trump — coming after a bruising GOP primary — was not based on political "calculus," but a sincere desire to practice "Disagree Better" within the Republican Party and "lower the temperature in this country."
Just over a month after his endorsement, Cox was invited to an exclusive event with Trump at the Arlington National Cemetery. The visit resulted in a viral TikTok video of Cox speaking with Trump and a controversial photo shoot at the military site.
During an interfaith fireside on Sunday, Cox said his connection with the president-elect extended beyond what has been publicly reported.
"I have had the opportunity to meet with him, to talk with him on many occasions. We've had some wonderful discussions, discussions that I think would surprise some people," Cox said.
