St. Petersburg, Florida (CNN) - Hours after a kerfuffle that had reporters up in arms over a lack of access to Mitt Romney, the candidate himself sought to defuse rising tensions.
Romney chatted briefly with reporters Wednesday on a charter plane shared by the press and campaign staffers - an arrangement Romney's team has infrequently made available to news organizations in recent months.
– Follow the Ticker on Twitter: @PoliticalTicker
The presumptive GOP nominee demurred when asked if he had directed his campaign to block reporters from approaching him as he shook hands with voters after a speech that morning in St. Petersburg.
"Just watching, just watching," he said of the confrontation between reporters and several staffers anxious to keep them from approaching Romney.
The prank-loving politician joked about his campaign's reputation for shielding him from the press corps that trails him across the country.
"Rick [Gorka] is about to pass out," he quipped about his traveling press secretary, who was also on board as Romney talked with reporters.
The candidate did not answer a question about attacks from Vice President Joe Biden over Romney's business career. Romney said he had not seen the vice president's speech.
Then he wrapped up his visit with a playful admonition he often offers his press corps, telling them to eat up. At different points in the campaign, Romney has offered reporters pastries, cookies, cake, chips and submarine sandwiches.
As he picked up a package of Grandma's Vanilla Cream sandwiches Wednesday, Romney pointed to a basket of snacks and said: "You have some work to do here."
From CNN Politics
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
| Advertising practices | Advertise with us | About us | Work for us | Help
Hey, stretfeld, get a grip. The prankster. Are you freaking kidding me?????
Running after, pinning down a gay student with three other pranksters and cutting the guy's hair is a prank. Nits called bullying and they should have spent some time in detention.
Where have you been, since yiu are supposedly a reporter, when all these stories about young people killing themselves because of this so called "pranks"? You are even bigger idiot Ghana the flip flopping bully!!! Did you go to the same schools and did it also take you six years to receive a journalism degree???
The prank-loving politician joked about his campaign's reputation for shielding him from the press corps that trails him across the country.
I suppose the prankster has his staff ready to tackle and keep scissors ready to clip any reporter's hair that he doesn't approve of?
Sound strategy, Willard. Keep forcing food on reporters so they can't open their mouths to ask you questions.
"Just watching, just watching"....leading from behind.
Mitt Romney the human gaffe machine "wrapped up his visit with a playful admonition he often offers his press corps, telling them to eat up" and the media sits back and eats up Mitt Romney condescension with both hands full? Yeah. Real impressive. For both Mitt Romney and the media.
This entire story says more about what is wrong with American politics than anything yet written.
Atta girl, Flipper, way to show that "common man" sense of humor. Nothing cracks up regular everyday Americans quite like a presidential candidate who runs from the press. You're a comic genius and hero to all the quitbulls in your GOBP cult.
"an arrangement Romney's team has infrequently made available to news organizations in recent months."
-------------------------------------------
Just watching eh? So you're going to be the Sideliner-In-Chief? Stop avoiding the REAL press! The electorate requires candidates to answer questions from the press. And that does not onlygo for Fox Noise. Why not have a sit down with David Gregory one Sunday. At least one. Chicken?
"Kerfuffle"? Oh, that zany Mitt.
Typical Romney, just watching ... never leading.
OMG – It's Sarah Palin all over again. Let's not speak to reporters cause we don't want to answer their questions.
Come on Romney, if you want to be President then act like it. You are so out of touch with the average voter.
Obama / Biden 2012
Romney does not want to talk to reporters because he's afraid that he will say something stupid, which he usually does.
I guess he still didn't answer any questions. Shades of Palin. Shades of Palin. They're hiding something about the man, who we really know nothing about. We know nothing of the man himself. If we did, then his gaffes wouldn't be regarded as gaffes. "Oh, he told another corny joke."
FAKE..................just plan FAKE! How plastic is this guy?
This man continues to show asolutely no leadership skills whatsoever!! If he was 'watching, watching' (As he even stated) what was taking place between his staff and members of the traveling press corps, why in God's name would he not of stepped in when he realized that what was happening was not the norm or common practice for his Campaign? This just goes to show his total lack of insight and how his cadre of aids must continue to "baby and protect" him from sticking his foot in his mouth once again!! A perfect example of Sarah Palin's strict media practices being applied here.
What a classy guy – can't wait till he is our prez!
"Romney was 'just watching' kerfuffle"
Really In other words, he didn't know what to do so he kept his head down.
Was he chicken? Was he like Marty McFly, yellow?
Sure sounds a lot like the media blocking that happened with Palin. The less exposure, the less chances he has of making a fool of himself.
"The prank-loving politician joked about his campaign's reputation for shielding him from the press corps that trails him across the country."
Better get that nonsense out of your system CNN. After hearing about his bigotted assault of a fellow student solely on the assumption that the kid was gay, it might behoove you to stop trying to gloss over it for him by referring to him as a "prankster" or other such euphamisms. He's not a "prankster." He's a seriously delusional bigot who pretended not to remember committing battery on another human being.
He wasn't "just watching" when he cut that kid's hair. STOP APOLOGIZING FOR HIM. Could it be any clearer that the upper management and advertising departments at CNN and the rest of the MSM have given strict orders to the people who write this fluff that DEputy Doublethink absolutely must be propped up at all costs so there can be a "horse race"?
"President Obama's budget suffered a second embarrassing defeat Wednesday, when senators voted 99-0 to reject it.
Coupled with the House's rejection in March, 414-0, that means Mr. Obama's budget has failed to win a single vote in support this year."
------------–
And stunningly, there are still some dolts among us who support President Failure.
Yeah, Mittens "I don't remember my hate crimes" Romney, the consummate "prankster."
The prank-loving politician joked about his campaign's reputation for shielding him from the press corps that trails him across the country.
Prant-loving? As in assaulting a former classmate and touching something that doesn't belong to him and that he had NO RIGHT to touch? I guess this is part of the Mormon culture.
@Jim
What a classy guy – can't wait till he is our prez!
Yes , just like GW Bush !
A real classy guy .
if you liked bush your going to love bishop romney after all he only shipped democrat type jobs to china-no republicans were effected
I don't know, GOPers. Your candidate for President of the United States is nothing more than $arah Palin in pants. Oops, my bad ... $arah Palin in jeans.
President Romney! I can't wait for this moment to come!
"President Obama's budget suffered a second embarrassing defeat Wednesday, when senators voted 99-0 to reject it.
Coupled with the House's rejection in March, 414-0, that means Mr. Obama's budget has failed to win a single vote in support this year."
----–
And stunningly, there are still some dolts among us who support President Failure.
====
Even more stunningly, there are still some dolts who buy the malarky that a president's budget proposal ever gets put up for a vote in this manner, ever gets put up for a vote without significant changes and negotiations between the parties first and either don't recognize that the GOP-controlled House only forced it to happen just to fabricate that talking point you just regurgitated or are regurgitating it to spread misperceptions on purpose.