Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Everything Worked Out: Mitt Romney Never Wanted To Be President, Says Son
By
Jen Chung
Published Dec 23, 2012
Modified Dec 23, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Dec 23, 2012
Modified Dec 23, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney—who tried to convince wealthy donors that he was the right person to lead the United States because 47% of the country is made up of layabouts who support President Obama—lost the 2012 presidential election. So it's a good thing that he never really wanted to be president! In a great Boston Globe feature about the Romney campaign's missteps, number one son Tagg Romney says his dad "wanted to be president less than anyone I’ve met in my life. He had no desire to ... run." Then things TOTALLY WORKED OUT.
According to the Globe, Tagg and Ann Romney convinced Mitt to run. Tagg Romney, who wanted to punch mean old Obama, said of his father, "If he could have found someone else to take his place ... he would have been ecstatic to step aside. He is a very private person who loves his family deeply and wants to be with them, but he has deep faith in God and he loves his country, but he doesn’t love the attention."
Other highlights: Romney political director Rich Beeson marveling at how Obama had 3,000 paid workers (Romney only had 500) and hundreds of thousands of volunteers, "Now I know what they were doing with all the staffs and office. They were literally creating a one-to-one contact with voters," and at how Obama's campaign did get minorities to come out and vote, "They altered the face of the election by driving up the Latino turnout. They told us they would do it. I didn’t think they would do it, and they did."
Tagged
election 2012
idiots
mitt romney
president obama
tagg romney
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Holy civics! NYC schools' own comic books in the spotlight at Comic Con
Comic Con continues through Sunday.
By
Jessica Gould
Published Oct 10, 2026 at 8:00 a.m. ET
What we know about the ICE shooting in NYC
A federal immigration agent shot a Dominican immigrant in the neck in Marble Hill Thursday night.
By
Karen Yi
News
What we know about the ICE shooting in NYC
A federal immigration agent shot a Dominican immigrant in the neck in Marble Hill Thursday night.
By
Karen Yi
DSA to Mamdani: Fire NYPD commissioner if ICE doesn't leave NYC
By
Elizabeth Kim
,
Brigid Bergin
and
Ben Feuerherd
Two people killed in Bronx vehicle crash
By
Kaya Laterman
NY will opt in Trump’s school choice program, Hochul says
By
Jon Campbell
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .