Mitt Romney left critics of his foreign policy stances a big opening when he fumbled the first full day of his international trip. A group of Democratic foreign policy experts was eager to plow through it Thursday.
“We’ve watched him insult the Brits in telling them that the nation that handled the Battle of Britain and showed resolve throughout very trying times can’t pull together during the Olympics?” Mark Jacobson, a former deputy NATO civilian representative in Afghanistan, told TPM on a conference call sponsored by the progressive Truman National Security Project. “That’s not the right way to start off this trip abroad.”
Jacobson said Romney’s big stumble in England — which resulted in near-uniform harassment from the British press as well as umbrage from British Prime Minister David Cameron — “betrays Romney’s lack of experience” in foreign policy.
“He’s simply not ready for the very delicate diplomatic dance that is necessary when handling our country’s relations abroad,” Jacobson said.
Former Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA), an Iraq War veteran, said that Romney’s trouble in the United Kingdom was to be expected.
“Frankly I’m not surprised that Romney is ruffling feathers with some of our greatest allies in Afghanistan like Great Britain,” Murphy said. “He’s a guy that’s basically trying to finesse his way through talking points when he’s talking about foreign policy and it’s coming back to bite him, and our country.”
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