How Romney Got Short-Sheeted, Pranked Back by Pretending Maid Was Fired
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JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — According to senior strategist Eric Fehrnstrom, former Governor Mitt Romney reportedly had a reputation as a prankster among his staff.
At a Washington Post Live event on Saturday, Romney adviser Peter Flaherty told the Post’s Dan Balz that the biggest misperception about Mitt Romney “is that he’s stiff,” prompting Balz to ask, “What’s the most fun you’ve ever had with the governor? What’s the most fun moment?”
Fehrnstrom recounted the time a Massachusetts state trooper short-sheeted Romney’s hotel bed, and the governor responded by convincing the trooper a maid had been fired as a result.
“I remember one trip he took as governor, one of the troopers who was assigned to his protective detail short-sheeted his bed. Now that in itself should tell you something about governor Romney, that a state trooper who’s assigned to protect him would be emboldened enough to short-sheet his bed, but he did,” Fehrnstrom said.
“The governor, in order to turn the tables on the trooper, sat down and composed a letter as if it had been written by the hotel manager, addressed to himself as the governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, apologized for the bad housekeeping and the shortsheeting of his bed and informed him that we have taken action to fire the chambermaid responsible.
“The governor showed that to the trooper that had short-sheeted the bed, and of course his face went white, he was aghast, that something like that had happened. So I think that gives you an example” of the governor’s lighter side, Fehrnstrom said.
Why don’t we see more of Romney the prankster? Balz asked.
“Well, we’ll send him over to your house — he’ll short-sheet your bed if that makes you feel better,” Fehrnstrom replied.
Later at the event, an audience member suggested to Fehrnstrom that the story wouldn’t have been so funny to the maid.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio