The campaign of Gov. Mitt Romney says the Republican presidential candidate will no longer tell the story of meeting Navy SEAL Glen Doherty, who was killed during the attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
Romney revealed during his stump speeches that he met Doherty at a Christmas party he crashed in his San Diego neighborhood.
In a campaign event in Iowa, yesterday, Romney choked up when he retold the story.
"You can imagine how I felt when I found out that he was one of the two former Navy SEALS killed in Benghazi on September 11," Romney said. "And it touched me, obviously, as I recognized that this young man that I felt was so impressive had lost his life in the service of his fellow men and women."
But just as happened with President Obama when the producers of Sesame Street requested the Obama campaign pull an ad featuring the bird, Doherty's mother has asked Romney to stop politicizing her son.
"I don't trust Romney. He shouldn't make my son's death part of his political agenda," Barbara Doherty told Boston's WHDH. "It's wrong to use these brave young men, who wanted freedom for all, to degrade Obama."
Shortly after, the Romney campaign said they would comply with Doherty's request.
"Governor Romney was inspired by the memory of meeting Glen Doherty and shared his story and that memory, but we respect the wishes of Mrs. Doherty," Romney spokesman Rick Gorka told Politico.
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
