Mitt Romney accepts apology from MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry
“I think her apology was clearly heartfelt, and we accept that”
On this morning’s “Fox News Sunday” program with host Chris Wallace, Mitt Romney took the high road and accepted an apology from Melissa Harris-Perry. (Video after the jump).
.@MittRomney on MSNBC mocking: People make mistakes, they made a big mistake, and they've apologized, I’m going to move on #FNS
— FoxNewsSunday (@FoxNewsSunday) January 5, 2014
This came just one day after the MSNBC host apologized again, this time on air, for a recent segment on her program that devolved into ridicule of a photo that featured Governor Romney holding his adopted grandson, Kieran, who is black.
“Governor, this must be hurtful and I know you’re a classy guy and you don’t want to get into it,” Wallace prefaced, “but I’ve got to ask you – honestly, from the heart, how did you, and quite frankly how did Mrs. Romney feel when you heard that your little baby grandson Kieran was the target for political ridicule?”
“Well, first let me just note Chris, that we love this little guy a great deal. He was an answer to prayer, and we love that he is part of our family. He is part of our family,” Romney said.
“That being said, I recognize that people make mistakes,” Romney continued. “And the folks at MSNBC made a big mistake. And they’ve apologized for it. And that’s all you can ask for. I am going to move on from that. I am sure they want to move on from it. Look, I’ve made plenty of mistakes myself. And they’ve apologized for this. You know, I think we can go on from there.”
Wallace tried to press further: “You tend to speak from the head. I know Mrs. Romney tends to speak from the heart. I suspect she took this somewhat more personally. The idea that political discourse would include going after a little baby.”
Romney continued to respond with grace and class, while pointing out that children are beyond the line as political targets.
“Well, you know, I think people recognize, and the folks at MSNBC who have apologized recognize that people like me are fair targets. If you get in the political game, you can expect incoming. But children, you know, that’s beyond the line, and I think they understand that, and feel that as well. I think it’s a heartfelt apology. And I think for that reason, we hold no ill will whatsoever.”
After Wallace played a clip of Harris-Perry’s apology and asked for Romney’s reaction to it and to other comments that had been made during the week’s prior MSNBC segment, Romney stayed the high ground.
“I think her apology was clearly heartfelt, and we accept that,” Romney said, while declining to respond to the other comments made on the initial MSNBC segment.
Watch the full video below.
Romney’s response was a refreshing contrast to that of the initial display from MSNBC.
(Featured image credit: FOX News Sunday video clip, YouTube/thelittlelephant)
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Comments
If the hack, Melissa Harris-Perry really wants to show how sorry she is for not only her racial comments, but those of her guests she should start by having an entire show devoted to those black kids who have been adopted by white parents.
She could start with Michael Oher, and the adopted black son of Willie Robertson, and let those cases speak for themselves.
But she won’t, and BSNBC will not promote something like that. It would serve to destroy their racist agenda. People like MHP and Al Sharpton would rather see black children languish in orphanages or be fostered by other blacks who see those kids as a steady paycheck from the state.
I have some friends who adopted a black child from South Africa. When they got home with the little girl, everyone was happy for them except their black congregants who thought it was horrible that white people would adopt a black child because they “couldn’t teach the child how to be black” to which my friend replied “No, I can’t teach her how to be black, but I can teach her how to be loved, safe and secure.”
How does one teach someone to “be black?” That statement boggles my mind.
Ask Obama who taught him to be black. Little Barry Soetoro was the grandson of White Privilege yet he only seems to want to identify with his black roots.
You know, the Kenyan father and his family that wanted him aborted so as to not stain their bloodline.
I think the idea of a show about minority children being adopted by white families is a marvelous idea. In fact it’s such a good idea that if MHP and MSNBC won’t do it, Megyn Kelly and Fox News should do it. Of course, if the latter people would actually see it.
I think you probably meant ” being adopted by
whiteloving families, able to provide for them.”White, black, brown, yellow, green, red or blue does not really make a difference.
I do mean loving families, of course. I’m an adoptive father myself.
But I don’t think MHP and MSNBC are upset about black families adopting black children, or children of any other race.
I think you get my point.
Your friends can’t teach the kid how to think like a victim, to disregard the value of you action, to disregard standard English, to dress and act like a thug? Don’t worry, when she gets to the public schools, unless her parents out their foot down, the kids, through peer pressure will give her a vicious crash course.
Class act, that Mr. Romney. Too bad he couldn’t be president.
Romney and the Romney family in general have more class in their little left toe than any hack on political left, let alone MSNBC…
A piece I am sharing today seems appropriately posted here: Romney’s Uncanny Predictions About Obama’s Second Term Make Him Look Like He Had Psychic Superpowers – http://www.ijreview.com/2013/11/94342-mitt-romney-made-predictions-prior-obamas-second-term-p-s-right/
The Romney clan is far classier than a lot of America. The main reason that he could never be president is because he would never have any personal scandals. The LameStreamDriveByMedia would be without material to either expose or defend. Inconceivable.
I agree, the Romney clan seem like something out of the 1940s. Little things like honor and forgiveness to your enemies after the battles have been fought. Yes, he seems like a really sincerely nice guy – probably best for him not to be president.
No, the main reason he could never be president was that he never demonstrated the willingness or ability to comprehend or confront the Left. It’s that simple. The two times he did (in his impromptu press conference after Benghazi and in his first debate) he electrified his base and shot up in popularity. He promptly reverted to norm and sank. This should be the final lesson to the GOP (it actually doesn’t deserve any more lessons) — fight or die.
Fight or die was part of it, I think, though Mittens certainly showed a ruthless streak in the primaries. I always wondered why that disappeared in the general election; it would have been useful.
More importantly I think, his campaign tanked because he, the master businessman, didn’t run a very good organization. He allowed the consultants to run him instead of vice-versa.
And just as importantly, I think a fair number of conservatives, especially evangelical conservatives, couldn’t bring themselves to vote for the man. Fine, their choice and it’s not my place to criticize them, but now we all see what we got.
The failure to win votes is always, always, always the fault of the candidate and his/her party. No exceptions.
The predictable results of any person’s action, or conscious decision NOT to take the action, also require accountability.
People were free as citizens to withhold their votes from McCain and/or Romney. That right confers no freedom from recognizing the consequences and being honestly responsible for them.
We are never presented with a choice between a perfect candidate and the precise opposite. It’s never happened yet, perhaps with the exception of Reagan’s two campaigns. We have a choice between flawed Candidate A and flawed Candidate B. Those who refuse to vote or vote for a third party are effectively ratifying the winner.
The failure to win votes is always, always, always the fault of the candidate and his/her party. No exceptions.
To say otherwise is to never take responsibility for one’s failure to win enough votes to win an election. Nice spin job for the RINOs, however. Fail.
Romney viciously waged war on Conservatives like Palin and on other GOPers, like Gingrich. He was vile, nasty to them. When he knifed his way to the candidacy and turned to the Democrats, he put away all his viciousness and became a teddy bear.
So, Romney,s acceptance of MPH’s “apology” and the charity it shows is of a piece with his treatment of the Left, and shows the Right the softness that he has never extended to us.
Class act? Only towards the Left.
Add another person, for Mitt Romney as a class act!
http://hotair.com/archives/2010/01/09/bill-clinton-2008-on-obama-a-few-years-ago-this-guy-would-have-been-getting-us-coffee/
Let me add a bit to that Bill.
Barry wouldn’t be qualified to wash Mitt Romney’s jock strap..
Umm, I ain’t a class act, in case you did not notice. 🙂
What is Harris-Perry doing with a white person first name? Her parents too dumb to make up a black name? All one has to do is start with a Sh, DJ, or ‘ .
Sy’Phyllis Harris-Perry sounds quite catchy too, no?
Mitt is ONE CLASS ACT.
Melissa Harris-Perry? Not so much.
This is between him and MSNBC as nasty as they are.
I wish Romney had used the opportunity to say something along the lines of: Of course we were offended. Hurt and offended on behalf of our family and especially our grandson. We appreciate the apology and accept it, because that’s all that can be done after the fact. But this was not a casual misspeak. Perhaps it should function as a wake-up call that ad hominem and mockery is not the way to justify failing political positions. That’s all I will say for now on the subject.
Better yet, he could have said “it would have been easier to accept MHP’s apology had she not had a history of these kinds of comments; however, Christian charity must guide my actions here, so I accept.”
Mitt Romney has spoken of wanting to be involved in the political process ( not as a candidate ) & this will help his relaunch.
Never let a crises go to waste. Make them live up to their own (diversity ) standards .
An aside is that both he & Melissa’s mother were BYU grads (i should check if they were contemporaries ).
i would put this down as a very big win . MSNbc is tar baby .
Romney is correct her apology was “heartfelt,” but that is only because she didn’t really apologize for implying he is a racist.
Read the transcript: she apologizes for her own “poor judgment,” for “violating the rule against bringing families into politics,” and for “failing to fully celebrate diversity in all its many forms” (or words to those effects).
She apologized to leftists and media colleagues for screwing up, NOT for calling Romney and by implication all Republicans racist, OR for implying that the low numbers of blacks in our families or at our conventions is prima facie proof of that smear.
Other than to mock the Romney family for their black grandchild, what was the purpose of showing the picture on air? And why wasn’t that purpose even mentioned in the little hate-fest that ensued? When Melissa Harris-Perry deigns to address those questions, she will be on the path to apology. She has not come close yet.
Romney has too much class to call her out on her phony apology, but I don’t!
Sorry, going for reply got the thumb down instead.
Romney could’ve said exactly what you did, MPH has not apologized to me or my family. Instead, she has apologized “for her own “poor judgment,” for “violating the rule against bringing families into politics,” and for “failing to fully celebrate diversity in all its many forms” (or words to those effects).
She apologized to leftists and media colleagues for screwing up”. Therefore, I cannot accept an apology that has not been made.
Let her do it over and over until she gets it right. That’s what the Left does to us.
Instead of using this issue to confront race baiting (espeically @ MSNBC) Romney, showing WHY he lost in 2012…rolls over…he just doesn’t have the “killer” instinct. He could have used this disgusting comment by yet another MSNBC headliner to confront the new organization, and instead…rolled over as he did in the last campaign.