Ann Romney, wife of contender for the GOP presidential nomination, Mitt Romney, told Piers Morgan she saw the humor in recent remarks by Robert De Niro at an Obama campaign event. She evidently doesn’t think too much of today’s politically correct hyper-sensitivity to all things said in jest.
Ann Romney tells CNN’s Piers Morgan that she laughed when she heard Robert De Niro’s joke about whether the country was ready “for a white first lady.”
“I took it for what it was: a joke,” she said. “We take everything so seriously.”
“I’ll tell you, in politics the fastest way to get in trouble is make a joke. So I think Robert De Niro just learned that.”
She talked to Morgan about today’s “distraction”: a Romney adviser’s statement that the campaign would be like an “Etch-a-Sketch” once the general election campaign rolls around. Shake it and start over.
“We’re all overreacting to so many things and making things so difficult,” she added.
Newt Gingrich, whose wife Calista was also mentioned in De Niro’s joke, as was Karen Santorum, didn’t find it quite so funny, sparking some controversy for the actor. De Niro ultimately drew some criticism from the White House and issued an apology after “days of criticism,” according to The Hill.
The offending remarks drew harsh rebuke from GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich and spurred a response from a spokeswoman for the first lady, who issued a statement calling the joke “inappropriate.”
“Callista Gingrich. Karen Santorum. Ann Romney. Now, do you really think our country is ready for a white first lady?” De Niro said, to laughter from the crowd. When someone in the audience yelled, “No!” De Niro continued, “Too soon, right?
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.