Republican donor Meg Whitman, the high-profile Hewlett Packard Enterprise president and CEO, indicated at Mitt Romney's closed-door summit on Friday that she would likely be supporting Hillary Clinton in November, according to multiple sources who were in the room.
"She posed the question, 'Is it not reasonable to support Hillary Clinton?' given all the awful things Trump has said," explained donor John Chachas.
Whitman served as Romney's finance co-chair in 2012.
But asked if she was switching over to the other side, Whitman told ABC News, "I haven't made that decision. We’ll see, get to the conventions, see who the vice presidential picks are. And then I will make that decision."
Whitman's words come as a majority of Romney loyalists -- many of whom spearheaded the "Never Trump" movement -- are facing tough decisions about who to back this cycle. Romney himself has been one of Trump's most outspoken critics, and has openly declared he would not be voting for presumptive GOP presidential candidate.
Donors say they've come to the annual Romney retreat in Park City, Utah, looking for guidance from top Republicans attending the event, including Speaker Paul Ryan and Republican party chairman Reince Priebus.
"These guys are a lot smarter than I am, and if they’re endorsing [Trump], that's kind of reassuring to me,” said Scott Keller, a donor from Utah who was at the summit and has decided to back Trump.
Whitman indicated she would likely vote for Clinton, but made no mention of actually donating to the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. Still, some prominent Republican donors here were in shock.
"I see Meg Whitman supporting Clinton, and I’m surprised about that. I love and respect Meg Whitman but, my gosh," said Keller.
Keller added, however, that the "right thing" to do is to go vote for someone. Keller said that’s why he's planning to back Trump -- although he was reluctant to do so initially.
Two sources in the room said Whitman also compared Trump to historical demagogues, including Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. She then turned to Ryan to ask him how he could support Trump.
Whitman has previously gone on the record saying she wouldn't be voting for Trump.
"Look at the comments he's made about women, about Muslims, about reporters, it's just repugnant," she told CNBC in March.
According to Jim and Joanne, a couple from Southern California who declined to provide their last names, Whitman isn't the only donor here considering Clinton. The summit attendees took an informal poll at lunch, with the room splitting evenly among Trump and Clinton supporters, they said.
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