The man who recorded Mitt Romney at a Florida fundraiser last year and made “47 percent” a household phrase was a bartender at the high-dollar event whose full identity will be revealed on Wednesday during an interview on MSNBC.
In a preview of the interview, the man told Ed Schultz that he “debated for a little while” whether to go public with the footage, but ultimately felt that he had an obligation. The clip only showed the back of the man.
“It was tough and I debated for a little while but in the end I really felt like it had to be put out,” he told Schultz. “I felt I owed it to the people who couldn’t afford to be there themselves to hear what he really thought.”
Huffington Post reported Tuesday that it was the bartender’s previous work at a Democratic fundraiser that served as the impetus to surreptitiously film Romney. Former President Bill Clinton spoke at that event and afterwards he stopped by the kitchen to meet and thank the bartenders, waiters and other staff.
Little has been known about the man until now, although speculation was rife that it was executed by someone working at the fundraiser. James Carter, the Democratic researcher who unearthed the footage, confirmed last month that the person who recorded Romney was not a donor.
Schultz’s interview with the man will air on “The Ed Show” Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET.
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