Mitt Romney was full of denials yesterday about a quote in a British newspaper supposedly from a Romney campaign “adviser” attacking President Obama for not understanding the “Anglo-Saxon” heritage that connects the U.S. and Britain.
The remarks were printed by the Daily Telegraph, which acknowledged that they could “prompt accusations of racial insensitivity.”
“We are part of an Anglo-Saxon heritage, and he feels that the special relationship is special,” the advisor said, adding: “The White House didn’t fully appreciate the shared history we have.”
“Obama is a Left-winger,” a second advisor told the Daily Telegraph. “He doesn’t value the NATO alliance as much, he’s very comfortable with American decline and the traditional alliances don’t mean as much to him. He wouldn’t like singing ‘Land of Hope and Glory’.”
The two advisers told the paper that Romney would reinstall the Churchill bust displayed in the Oval Office by George W. Bush but returned to British diplomats by Obama when he took office in 2009. One said Romney viewed the move as “symbolically important” while the other said it was “just for starters.”
“He is naturally more Atlanticist,” the adviser told the paper.
As for their anonymity, the paper said “the advisers spoke on the condition of anonymity because Mr Romney’s campaign requested that they not criticize the President to foreign media.”
Mitt Romney said the racially charged Anglo-Saxon quote didn’t come from him and did not reflect his views.
“I’m not sure who this person is, but I can tell you that we have a very special relationship between the United States and Great Britain,” Romney said in the interview with NBC News. “But I also believe the president understands that.”
Romney said he’s not a big fan of anonymous quotes.
“First of all, I’m genuinely not enthusiastic about adopting the comments made by people who are unnamed. I have a lot of advisers, actually we’ve gone from calling the rope line where I shake hands everyday to the advice line, because we have a lot of people that offer advice. So I’m not sure who this person is, but I can tell you that we have a very special relationship between the United States and Great Britain.”
He added: “It goes back to our very beginnings, culture and historical, but I also believe the president understands that, so I don’t agree with whoever that adviser might be, but do agree that we have a very common bond between ourselves and Great Britain.”
