Last updated on July 29th, 2012 at 12:32 pm
What do you do after you have insulted an entire nation while they host the Olympics? If you’re Ann and Mitt Romney, you proclaim yourself to be British, and try to boost your street cred by claiming that you love Downton Abbey.
Mitt and Ann Romney sat down with CNN’s Piers Morgan for a really strange and surreal attempt at damage control.
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Video:
Transcript from CNN:
MORGAN: I made a fascinating discovery last night, Governor, which is that you are more English than I am. Did you know this?
M. ROMNEY: I did not know that.
MORGAN: Your great, great, great grandfather, Miles Romney, was born in Preston, Lancashire. My great, great grandfather was born in Ireland. You are technically more English than me.
(LAUGHTER)
M. ROMNEY: Well, I knew that my ancestors came from here. And I know Miles Romney. And Miles Park Romney. These are the folks that came and helped settle the West. But it’s — I didn’t realize I was more English than you are but —
(LAUGHTER) MORGAN: Do you feel — do you feel partly English?
M. ROMNEY: Well, I’m married to a girl from Wales.
MORGAN: Yes.
M. ROMNEY: And I’m a guy from Great Britain so I’m — I feel like this is home, too, I guess.
(LAUGHTER)
…
MORGAN: What was the last movie where you saw a Mitt tear trickle down his eye?
A. ROMNEY: It’s hard to say when is the last time we even saw a movie. I’m not sure I’m even going to remember that, because we have so little time. Actually, what we do when we’re together now, because we’re so rarely together and we’re trying to get through season two of “Downtown Abbey,” MORGAN: It’s fantastic, isn’t it?
A. ROMNEY: We love it.
Well, that was odd. In the video, you’ll also notice that Ann Romney already assumes that her husband is going to be elected president. There will be none of this if the voters elect us stuff for the Romneys. Ann already knows that Mitt is going to win. They just need “you people” to shut up and vote for him. The interview with Piers Morgan was already scheduled before Mitt Romney’s day of self destruction in London, but this was one weird and awkward stab at damage control.
Maybe the whole ‘I feel like I am back home’ line would have been more effective if Romney would not have insulted the entire country first by questioning their preparedness for the Olympics.
Romney’s questioning of Olympic security in the same city that suffered the 7/7 terrorist attack would be like standing in New York and saying that the city shouldn’t host the Super Bowl because they might not be up to the security challenge.
Ann Romney’s proclamation that she and her husband love Downton Abbey was akin to saying I am not racist, I’ve seen all of Tyler Perry’s movies, or I’m black because I watched every season of The Jeffersons.
With their presidential dreams in shambles, the Romneys are trying to make everything better by declaring their love for Downton Abbey. Mitt and Ann Romney may act like royalty but they are no Earl and Countess of Grantham. I suspect that after the election Mitt and Ann will have plenty of time to finally get through Downton Abbey’s season two.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
