Richard Grenell, Romney’s national security and foreign policy spokesperson, resigned Tuesday because he was told to stay silent on a foreign policy conference call he organized, the New York Times has confirmed. Theories and reports have circulated about why Grenell left, including speculation that the campaign didn’t want to anger the religious right over the appointment of a gay spokesman — which aides confirmed was an issue.
From the Times:
But Richard Grenell, the political strategist who helped organize the call and was specifically hired to oversee such communications, was conspicuously absent, or so everyone thought.
It turned out he was at home in Los Angeles, listening in, but stone silent and seething. A few minutes earlier, a senior Romney aide had delivered an unexpected directive, according to several people involved in the call.
“Ric,” said Alex Wong, a policy aide, “the campaign has requested that you not speak on this call.” Mr. Wong added, “It’s best to lay low for now.”
Romney aides told the Times that they tried to keep Grenell from resigning but that they also didn’t want to anger social conservatives:
Aides to Mr. Romney insist they did everything they could to keep Mr. Grenell from resigning, sending the campaign’s highest-level officials to try to persuade him that they valued his expertise and that the matter would soon die down. In the end, they said, he chafed at the limitations of a disciplined presidential campaign.
…
“It’s not that the campaign cared whether Ric Grenell was gay,” one Republican adviser said. “They believed this was a nonissue. But they didn’t want to confront the religious right.”
