Even if you don't tag Mitt Romney with the "Anglo-Saxon" gaffe that started his European adventure, Mitt's still been making a complete idiot of himself as he travels on his "world tour" - which only includes three countries in Europe!
Mitt doesn't even really have a serious foreign policy. So far, Mitt's foreign policy appears to be, "Obama is foreign!"
Even so, Mitt the ____ [You fill in the blank] has made enough gaffes in his overseas trip that someone could make a list of them - so we did.
Mitt's Gaffes While In London (Gaffe Stop #1)
- Romney tells press about his meeting with MI6, the British spy agency that the U.K. government didn't even acknowledge existed until 1994! It's like 'Fight Club' - the Brits don't talk about it!
- Mitt met w/ Barclays Bank - one of the primary banks responsible for the ongoing LIBOR scandal - for a fundraiser, while he was in a foreign country!
- He questioned the readiness of London and the U.K. to host the 2012 Olympics - which caused the Mayor of London to call out Romney in front of 100,000 people, and caused British Prime Minister David Cameron to take a verbal slap back at Romney.
- Mitt forgot the name of Labour Party leader Ed Miliband at a press conference; Called him "Mr. Leader" instead.
Mitt's Gaffes While In Israel (Gaffe Stop #2)- After promising not to talk about foreign policy in London, Romney talked about what his foreign policy with respect to Jerusalem would be.
- Breaks with carefully established official U.S. protocol, by saying that Jerusalem is Israel's capitol, and if elected, vows to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. Romney's comments anger both Palestinians and Israelis, as well as the U.S. State Department.
- Top Romney foreign policy aide (and former Bush aide) Dan Senor said that Mitt Romney would back Israel if that nation felt it needed to attack Iran - and then had to walk back those comments.
- Romney claims that Israelis are doing better than Palestinians because Israelis have a better "culture."
- Romney Praises Israel's Universal Health Care System, Which Includes Individual Mandate
- The Romney campaign held a fundraiser in Israel, during Tish'a B'Av, which is a holiday of mourning, where the Romney campaign first planned to deny media access - which violated pre-established protocol - then changed directions and allowed media access after all.
- Romney Even Writes The Wrong Date In Netanyahu Guestbook
Mitt's Gaffes While In Poland (Gaffe Stop #3)- Mitt angers the legendary Solidarity Party - the party that helped free Poland. They want nothing to do with him during his time in Poland.
- In his key speech in Poland, Romney attacked Russia, a nation with which the U.S. currently has no official disputes
- While Mr. Romney is visiting the Polish Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a Romney aide tells reporters to "Kiss my ass. This is a Holy site for the Polish people. Show some respect." The aide then tells another reporter to "shove it."
Mitt's Gaffes While In Israel (Reprise)- As Romney was preparing to come back to the U.S., Romney was attacked over his comments claiming Israelis are better becuse of culture. In an interview on Fox News, Romney claims he's never spoken about Israeli and Palestinian culture.
- Journalist Greg Sargent pointed out that Mitt Romney, in his 2010 book, ascribed Israeli-Palestinian economic disparities to culture.
- Shortly after Romney's Fox interview, Romney published an Op-Ed piece in the National Review, where Mitt explicitly says he was comparing the two economies and cultures.
For a foreign policy trip that was supposed to be a super easy diplomatic "layup", as Republican advisor Hogan Gidley called it, Mitt's trip seems to have been one where he couldn't hit the foreign policy basket at all.
