Mitt Romney’s oldest son Tagg spoke to roughly a hundred College Republicans at State Street Brats Friday, responding to comments made by President Barack Obama up the road on Bascom Hill and continuing his family’s trend of speaking publicly about the “warmer side” of its patriarch.
A senior adviser to both Romney presidential campaigns, Tagg, 42, has campaigned extensively for his father in Wisconsin, arriving in Madison from a similar Marquette University event.
He was quick to respond to President Barack Obama’s accusation Thursday that his debate opponent the night before “couldn’t have been Mitt Romney” because of discrepancies between debate comments and established platform positions.
Tagg said the president’s words distorted the image of who Mitt Romney is.
“They try to paint this person who doesn’t exist,” he said. “He’s a good man who cares about this country.”
Tagg pointed to a time in 1996 when his father closed Bain Capital’s office in Boston and brought his whole staff to New York City for six days where they helped find the missing daughter of a partner.
“He changed that girl’s life,” Tagg Romney said. “It was just one example that [my father] goes beyond just saying ‘tell me what I can do.’”
In another intimate moment, Tagg said his father decided to run again after he and his mother, Ann Romney, implored him to think about his grandchildren and their future.
“The reason why my dad is running is to try and help young people…the debt they’re inheriting, the weak economy and job market,” he said. “He cares about these kids.”
Like Obama, he stressed the importance of the youth vote in swing states like Wisconsin.
“We’re right within the margin of error in the state’s polls,” he said. “We saw a great turnout today and we have a lot more momentum this time around.”
Tagg said he enjoyed the reception he received in Madison, staying to sign autographs and take pictures with many star-struck College Republicans, giving them the intimate brush with the election fellow students had on Bascom Hill the day before.
“I love it here, we had a great turnout today,” Tagg said leaving State Street Brats, with a conspicuous white takeout container in his hands. “And I’m excited for the brats.”
