Ann Romney didn’t do much to further the notion that her husband, Mitt, might try for another run at the White House in 2016 — but she didn’t do much to stop it from spreading, either.
In an interview Tuesday with Neil Cavuto on Fox News, Mrs. Romney answered a question about Mr. Romney’s chances of running, should former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush opt out of the race, with a question of her own: “Well, we will see, won’t we Neil?”
She went on, The Hill reported: “I think Jeb probably will end up running myself. … He’s probably looking at it very carefully right now.”
Mrs. Romney then added that her husband didn’t have plans “at this point” to seek the White House, especially since he and Jeb Bush draw support from the same source, she said, The Hill reported.
Mrs. Romney did assert that Islamic State militants would not have become a significant threat had her husband won the 2012 election.
“I think he would have had a status of forces agreement on in Iraq. I don’t believe ISIS would have had the invasion that they have — they’ve had. They wouldn’t have had the ability to — I think he would have tried to arm the moderates in Syria. I think there is other things that would have happened that would have made the equation a little bit tilted in our favor,” Mrs. Romney told Mr. Cavuto.
All U.S. troops had been withdrawn a year before the 2012 election, under the deal then-President George W. Bush agreed to in 2008. President Obama didn’t secure a new agreement during his first term, and it’s unclear if Mrs. Romney was suggesting her husband would have tried to send troops back a year after they’d been pulled out.
Some polls have put Mr. Romney ahead should he decide to seek the high office in 2016. Mrs. Romney, meanwhile, raised yet another possibility for the GOP to consider: “I’d love to see more women participate,” she said, The Hill reported.
And her female candidates of choice for the White House include Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina and Gov. Susana Martinez of New Mexico, she said.
• Kellan Howell contributed to this report.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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