Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney on Friday made a rare public appearance when he sat down with Jay Leno for a wide-ranging interview on “The Tonight Show.”
The two spent much of the interview discussing the stories that have engulfed Washington this past week. With regard to the Department of Justice’s subpoena of Associated Press phone records, Romney acknowledged that the government’s actions were “alarming to some folks” but said the investigaiton remains in the “very early stages.”
But asked to discuss the Internal Revenue Service’s improper targeting of conservative groups, Romney was more critical of President Barack Obama’s administration. He said that a special counsel should be appointed to investigate the administration’s role.
As he did during last year’s campaign, Romney assailed the administration’s response to the attack in Benghazi, Libya, accusing the White House and the State Department of editing talking points related to the deadly incident. The White House released internal emails that followed the attack, showing that the talking points had undergone significant revisions by the Central Intelligence Agency.
“American people were misled as to what happened,” Romney said.
The latter half of the interview turned more personal and reflective, with Romney’s wife, Ann, joining him on the set. Leno asked Romney to dispense advice to prospective presidential candidates.
“Make sure you have positions on the key issues nailed down from the very beginning,” Romney imparted, adding that candidates should assemble a strong campaign team. Later, he offered some tongue-in-cheek advice to would-be candidates.
“Sell the horse,” he said, alluding to the mockery he received from some over his wife’s Olympian dressage horse named Rafalca.
