Obama campaign spokesperson Jen Psaki declined to wade into the racial angle of a controversial quote attributed to an unnamed adviser to Mitt Romney published in the foreign press Wednesday. The anonymous adviser suggested Romney better understands the “Anglo-Saxon heritage” at the heart of the U.S.’s relationship with England.
“I don’t want to characterize it in that way,” Psaki said during a press gaggle Wednesday, when asked whether the quote constitutes a form of race baiting.
The comment in question was reported by the Daily Telegraph.
“We are part of an Anglo-Saxon heritage, and he feels that the special relationship is special,” the unnamed adviser said. “The White House didn’t fully appreciate the shared history we have.”
Psaki said she had not discussed the story with Obama, but said the comment violated Romney’s vow not to attack the president during his trip abroad.
“[T]his is a case where before Mitt Romney’s plane even is wheels down — they’re still watching romantic comedies on the plane, they’re [eating peanuts] — one of his advisers violated exactly what they said they wouldn’t do — which is criticize the president beyond the borders of the U.S.”
Psaki also drew on past comments from Romney and his surrogates have questioned Obama’s connection to America. “I will say that there are countless examples, which I’m happy to provide, of occasions where Mitt Romney and his surrogates have questioned whether the president understood America or freedom, and that really goes over a line that we think they shouldn’t,” she said.
Vice President Joe Biden criticized the remarks in a statement Wednesday morning, but also declined to address whether there was a racial element at play.
