Ann Romney, the wife of Republican presidential hopeful Mitt, who is known for her warm personality and kindness, expressed her frustration yesterday with the press in an uncharacteristic statement which her supporters say was made in jest.
According to the National Review’s Katrina Trinko, reporting from the Midland County Republican Club luncheon held on Sunday Ann complained about her husband’s treatment at the hands of journalists:
“All of us in this room know the media loves Barack Obama. They don’t want anyone who has a chance of defeating him,” she said, and then she added that it is,
“getting harder and harder to be cheerful,” she said, laughingly. “I am so mad at the press [that] I could just strangle them! And, you know, I think I’ve decided there are going to be some people invited on the bus and some people just aren’t going to be invited on the bus.”
Romney’s press secretary Andrea Saul downplayed the remarks by emphasizing that Ann “was laughing when she said this.”
Saul also said that “Ann has a very warm relationship with members of the press who travel with the campaign,” an opinion which is apparently shared by members of the press team who are on the trail with Romney.
One reporter told Trinko that Ann is “generally very kind.” She is “frequently described as more warm and genuine than the candidate himself.”
Given Ann’s reputation and the modest criticism of the press itself, it doesn’t seem too difficult to forgive Ann this small transgression.