Salon.com > Ann Romney

Mitt loves fluffernutter

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 17:47:00 +0000

Tagg Romney posted these pictures of Mitt Romney on Instagram, in the process of celebrating his 66th birthday.

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The week in 10 pics

Sat, 09 Mar 2013 14:00:00 +0000

From Rand Paul's bladder-defying filibuster to the goofy "snowquester," a look at the images that defined the week

6 most absurd remarks from Romney’s post-election interview

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 22:40:00 +0000

Mitt Romney is back. The former Massachusetts governor and failed Republican presidential candidate gave his first post-election interview to Fox News, and the results weren’t pretty -- though they were absurd.

Mitt and Ann Romney gave Chris Wallace of Fox News Sunday the honor of hearing them babble. From blaming minorities’ love of Obamacare to whining about their election loss, the interview was chock-full of ridiculous moments and quotes.

Here are six of them.

1. Blaming Minorities’ Love for Obamacare

Given the fact that the Republican Party staked out a totally anti-Obamacare political position throughout the 2012 campaign, it’s striking to see their former standard-bearer blame the legislation for his loss. It is admitting political failure of the highest degree.

Mitt and Ann Romney to appear on “Fox News Sunday” for first post-election interview

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 16:50:00 +0000

Mitt and Ann Romney will appear on "Fox News Sunday" next week, marking the former Presidential candidate's first interview since losing the 2012 election. The interview gives more fodder for a rumor that Romney could be tapped as the next "Droid Fox News is looking for," but more than likely, the conversation will revolve around Romney's thoughts on the election and President Barack Obama's second term strategy:

Romney attends the Pacquiao fight in Vegas

Sun, 09 Dec 2012 17:31:00 +0000

Mitt and Ann Romney were spotted ringside at the boxing match between Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas on Saturday night, in which Pacquiao lost.

Romney also met Pacquiao before the fight to wish him luck. According the AP, Pacquiao's publicist Fred Sternburg says that Romney added: "Hello Manny. I ran for president. I lost."

The AP writes: "The Romneys arrived during the undercard, drawing little reaction from the crowd."

Here's video of Romney meeting Pacquiao before the fight:

Mitt and Ann enjoy fight night, take in Pacquiao-Marquez

Sun, 09 Dec 2012 07:15:00 +0000

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Defeated presidential candidate Mitt Romney was a guest ringside Saturday night at the fourth fight between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez.

Romney also visited with Pacquiao in his dressing room before the fight, wishing him well in the bout.

''Hello Manny. I ran for president. I lost,'' Romney told the fighter, according to Pacquiao publicist Fred Sternburg.

Pacquiao is a congressman in the Philippines, and has said previously he might run one day for the president of his country.

Romney and his wife, Ann, were guests of Nevada State Athletic Commission chairman Bill Brady at the fight at the MGM Grand hotel arena. Brady hosted a fundraiser for Romney during the presidential campaign.

The Romneys arrived during the undercard, drawing little reaction from the crowd.

Mitt Romney’s bored, eating Boston Market, playing jokes

Sun, 02 Dec 2012 05:18:00 +0000

So what's Mitt Romney been up to for the last month? We all know he's pumped some gas, visited Disneyland, caught "Twilight" and shared white turkey chili and Southwest chicken salad with President Obama.

But a definitive Washington Post piece today has more details from inside the Romney home in La Jolla, Calif.

According to the Post, Romney watches the news about the "fiscal cliff," wonders "what if?" and doesn't know what to do with himself.

Four weeks after losing a presidential election he was convinced he would win, Romney’s rapid retreat into seclusion has been marked by repressed emotions, second-guessing and, perhaps for the first time in the overachiever’s adult life, sustained boredom.

Other details from the story:

Even losers go to Disneyland

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 15:15:00 +0000

Many wondered how GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney would fare after the election. Much to America's surprise, Romney has been doing a lot of stuff that the 47 percent might do: Watching "Twilight" with his wife, hanging out at Disneyland and pumping his own gas, for example. And he seems to be having a good time (well, except while pumping gas).

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Jason Biggs’ vulgar tweets

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 17:01:00 +0000

The "American Pie" star refused to apologize for the following tweets which he sent forth during the Republican Convention. WARNING, they are graphic and vulgar and may not be appropriate for some readers.

Jason Biggs@JasonBiggs

I’d totes dip a pinky or two in Paul Ryan’s wife’s bleached asshole (she obvs bleaches her asshole). #RNC

29 Aug 12

Jason Biggs@JasonBiggs

I bet there’s footage somewhere of Paul Ryan jerking off to a close-up photo of his widow’s peak. #RNC

29 Aug 12

Jason Biggs@JasonBiggs

10 women who cost Romney the presidency

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 14:42:00 +0000

Well, thank god that’s finally over. Further thanks that the climax was quick and clean. Almost surgical. Not as long a night as many first thought it might be. Except for Karl Rove, that is, who for all we know is still scribbling numbers to prove the call on Clinton’s reelection win in 1996 was premature. And as usual, Florida did all it could to gum things up, but was eventually rendered irrelevant. And long may it remain so.

In the end, President Barack Obama trounced, er, battered, um, eked out a victory, or to be more precise, Mitt Romney lost. Or shall we say, found a thousand ways to lose. Except for one brief shining moment in the first debate, virtually carrying with him a defeat diviner.

And each and every one of his failures can be traced directly to females. The distaff of life. Single women. Married women. Old women. Young women. Ladies and divas and flappers and baby mamas; duchesses, priestesses, shorties and floozies. So here they are, the top 10 females who cost Mitt Romney the presidency, each of them representing one of the myriad factors that helped construct the unelectable mosaic that became Bain’s Captain of Industry

Romney’s concession speech was not gracious

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 15:59:00 +0000

It is a venerable tradition in American politics that no matter how ugly a bloodbath the campaign that preceded it may have been, on election night, the defeated candidate steps up and gives an elegant concession speech, thanking his supporters and pledging his loyalty to the victor. In return, the winning side politely vows to reach across the aisle, and lauds the loser's "graciousness," thereby assuring that no one can accuse the victorious side of anything resembling gloating.

Sure enough, after Mitt Romney's five-minute parting words Tuesday evening – which actually came in the early hours of Wednesday morning – the governor was perfunctorily summed up in the punditsphere by the adjective of choice: The "Today" show declared that Romney's speech was a "short but gracious" end to his six-year quest for the White House. Our own Salon staff called it a "gracious" speech. Even BuzzFeed called it "gracious," pointing out its most "conciliatory and statesmanlike moments." New York magazine, meanwhile, said that Romney "concedes with class." Now, it may seem nitpicky to mention this while the door is still hitting the guy's ass on his way out, but are you kidding me?

What was Seamus thinking?

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 15:00:00 +0000

If Seamus could only know he'd influence a presidential election by voiding his bowels during that 12-hour, 1983 trip to Canada in a crate strapped to the roof of the Romney family station wagon, what would he think?

The Romney family Irish Setter entered political lore in 2007, when the Boston Globe coolly recounted his ordeal to highlight Mitt Romney’s response (pulling over at a gas station and hosing down car and dog), illustrating the candidate’s unemotional, logical problem-solving. And it was irresistible man-bites-dog stuff. Gail Collins’ legendary references to the incident totaled more than 75 as of Saturday. David Letterman had a field day. The Animal Legal Defense Fund created an infographic that documents all the animal welfare laws Romney appeared to break during the road trip. A major polling firm studied the public reaction to Romney over the incident (not good). Devo recorded a song.

Ann: Mormon missions are just like military service!

Sat, 20 Oct 2012 13:45:00 +0000

Thursday morning, Mitt ducked a scheduled performance on The View (more on that later), leaving his wife Ann Romney to represent the candidate’s views on those pesky “women’s issues” like abortion rights and military service.

Her answer on the latter question is turning some heads.

When pressed by Whoopi Goldberg on how Romney would explain why neither he nor any of his five sons served, Ann explained that the six men found “different ways of serving” by going on their Mormon religious missions.

“So, you know, we find different ways of serving,” she said. “And my husband and my five boys did serve missions, [but they] did not serve in the military.”

The substitution, she went on to explain, makes sense because the two share essential, character-building and altruistic values.

“I sent them away boys and they came back men. And what the difference was -- and I think this where military service is so extraordinary too -- is where you literally do something where you’re helping someone else. You’re going outside of yourself and you’re working and helping others. And that changes you,” she said.

Ann’s apology tour

Thu, 18 Oct 2012 20:09:00 +0000

Today was supposed to be the day that Mitt Romney made up for talking smack on “The View” by actually appearing on “The View.” (In the infamous 47 percent session, Romney was taped saying of Barbara Walter’s daytime kaffeeklatsch "'The View' is fine. Although 'The View' is high-risk because of the five women on it. Although one is conservative, four are sharp-tongued and not conservative …”) But earlier this week, he begged off, leaving Ann Romney to go it alone with Walters, Whoopi, Joy Behar, Sherri Shepherd and Elisabeth Hasselbeck. It’s a move that probably worked out exactly as the Romney campaign hoped: Ann got to be Mitt’s likable, non-controversial, content-less surrogate. She made an appeal to “The View’s” female audience with her discussion of chore wheels, but not the issues, which she deftly refused to answer any serious questions about.

Ann: Hillary is “doing a great job”

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 20:55:00 +0000

It’s an anodyne softball question from a glossy magazine known better for its reviews of home goods than its hard-hitting political interviews, but Ann Romney’s answer to Good Housekeeping is illuminating. Asked who her “heroes” and “role models” are, the would-be first lady replies, “I would say Eleanor Roosevelt, Mother Teresa ... and Hillary Clinton. She has been through so much; she just kept going. Now she's doing a great job as Secretary of State.”

The response is interesting in its own right for the inclusion of two Democratic first ladies and the omission of Republicans like Nancy Reagan or Laura Bush (or the focus on first ladies in general). But it’s especially interesting in the context of the political debate over Libya. If there’s one thing that every conservative commentator or elected official knows about last night’s debate -- even the conservatives that proclaimed Obama the winner -- it’s that the president lost on Libya. Depending on where you fall on the kookiness spectrum, the Obama administration, and particularly the State Department, were either critically negligent before the attacks on U.S. diplomats there, or were maybe secretly hoping that Americans would be killed. And when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took personal responsibility for the attacks Monday night, the right was driven “to surreal heights of psycho-sexual anxiety," as Joan Walsh wrote.

Romney camp disputes Tagg shake-up story

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 20:35:00 +0000

The Romney campaign said a Politico report about a "family intervention" and staff shake-up is "a bunch of nonsense."

The initial report, by Mike Allen and Jim Vandehei, said that "private frustration" with the campaign among the non-Mitt Romneys was mounting in the days leading up to the debate, so much so that they staged a successful "family intervention":

Chief strategist Stuart Stevens — whom the family held responsible for allowing Romney’s personal side to be obscured by an anti-Obama economic message — has seen his once wide-ranging portfolio "fenced in" to mainly the debates, and the television advertising that is his primary expertise, according to campaign officials. Tagg Romney, channeling his mother’s wishes, is taking a much more active role in how the campaign is run.

Romney campaign spokesman Kevin Madden told reporters that the account is "a bunch of nonsense," the LA Times reports.

"It doesn't make any sense to any of us who are on the campaign," Madden said. "Everyone right now is working really hard and really well together -- very focused on getting the governor's message out."

Ann Romney says electing a Mormon a good signal

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 14:42:00 +0000

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ann Romney says the election of her husband, a Mormon, would signal "that prejudices are left behind" just as the election of President Barack Obama sent that signal.

The wife of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney tells "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno that she loves the fact that the nation elected its first African-American president.

Asked by Leno to reflect on the significance of the first Mormon president, Mrs. Romney said she hoped that if her husband were elected, "We would see more of the same, that prejudices are left behind."

The Romneys met in high school. Asked whether Mitt Romney was a good dancer back then, she tells Leno: "He's gotten to be a better dancer."

Mrs. Romney's appearance was taped for Tuesday's night Leno program.

Smoke in the cabin? Just open the window

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 22:00:00 +0000

Last Friday, the plane carrying Ann Romney, the wife of presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, made an emergency landing in Denver after an apparent electrical malfunction caused smoke to fill the cabin.

Afterward, Romney said the following to the Los Angeles Times:

“I appreciate the fact that she is on the ground, safe and sound. And I don’t think she knows just how worried some of us were,” Romney said. “When you have a fire in an aircraft, there’s no place to go, exactly, there’s no -- and you can’t find any oxygen from outside the aircraft to get in the aircraft, because the windows don’t open. I don’t know why they don’t do that. It’s a real problem. So it’s very dangerous. And she was choking and rubbing her eyes. Fortunately, there was enough oxygen for the pilot and copilot to make a safe landing in Denver. But she’s safe and sound.”

The remarks have touched off a storm of snarky commentary from those in the blogosphere who have a slightly better grasp of things aeronautical. Should I join the chorus?

Ann Romney: Stop giving us advice

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 16:37:00 +0000

Ann Romney made a stop in Iowa yesterday, and told Radio Iowa in an interview that the campaign has had enough of Republicans criticizing the campaign, and telling them how to run things.

“Stop it. This is hard. You want to try it? Get in the ring,” she said. “This is hard and, you know, it’s an important thing that we’re doing right now and it’s an important election and it is time for all Americans to realize how significant this election is and how lucky we are to have someone with Mitt’s qualifications and experience and know-how to be able to have the opportunity to run this country.”

She continued: “We call the rope line now the advice line … because everyone cares and everyone wants to help and everyone wants to just give their piece — a little piece of advice — so I feel like my best advice is just to bring peace and calm to him and just trust in him and just say, ‘I know you can do it,’ but not to give him any advice because it gets too overwhelming.”

Even Ann Romney’s not buying this

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 20:15:00 +0000

“We, uh, use Ann sparingly right now so that people don’t get tired of her,” was another queasy comment Mitt Romney made at his now-infamous Florida fundraiser. Judging from Ann Romney's interview last night with a Colorado television station, she's the one getting tired. Trotted out to make the pitch, once again, to women voters, she was also wearily obliged to defend him -- and not very convincingly -- on comments that suggested he's written off the vast majority of women in this country.

"More and more people are falling into poverty -- more, in particular, women are falling into poverty," Ann recited dutifully. "There is a concern on his part, which is why he's running -- is that, he wants to make sure to bring better economic opportunity for women. I know the guy, I know him really well, I know he cares, and that's why we're running."

This is Ann Romney's sell on her husband in a nutshell -- I know and love Mitt, and that's why you, especially you ladies, should just trust him. But this week, it's never been less convincing, precisely because so many of those women fall into the mythical 47 percent that Mitt dismissed as unreachable.