Mitt Romney Heckled Over Libya Remarks
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NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images(FAIRFAX, Va.) — Mitt Romney today was drowned out by a protester at a campaign event yelling at him for “politicizing Libya.” The protester was so persistent that Romney was unable to hold a moment of silence in honor of those killed in the incident.
“I would offer a moment of silence but one gentleman doesn’t want to be silent, so we’re going to keep on going,” Romney said at the very beginning of a rally in Virginia this morning.
The man started shouting at Romney just as he began to offer his condolences regarding the four Americans killed in Libya. Romney said, “We have heavy hearts across America today.”
The protester interrupted, shouting, “Why are you politicizing Libya? Why are you politicizing Libya?”
People in the crowd began to chant “USA! USA!” to drown the man out, and others raised pom-poms and Romney signs in front of him. The man ripped one of the signs before being escorted out of the event.
Romney’s reaction to the news out of Libya has come under criticism by some who said he shouldn’t have made the event fodder for a political attack. Romney himself said that he believes it is never too early for the American government to condemn these kinds of attacks.
Romney finally got to speak without interruption at the rally in Fairfax. “As we watch the world today,” he said, “sometimes it seems that we’re at the mercy of events, instead of shaping events, and a strong America is essential to shape events.
“And a strong America, by the way, depends on a strong military. We have to have a military second to none and that’s so strong no one would ever think of testing it,” said Romney.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio