House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., does not think the boos Mitt Romney heard during his speech at the NAACP on Wednesday were altogether unwelcome.
“I think it was a calculated move on his part to get booed at the NAACP convention,” Pelosi said of his speech during an interview with Bloomberg TV.
The California Democrat did not elaborate on her comment, but there was evidence that Romney was well-prepared for his unfriendly welcome.
The boos began when the Republican candidate promised during his speech to “eliminate every nonessential, expensive program I can find - that includes Obamacare.”
REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL PICK MITT ROMNEY HEARS BOO BIRDS DURING SPEECH TO NAACP
The statement was bound to be unpopular with an audience that largely supports the health care reform – and, overwhelmingly, President Obama.
After his speech, Romney turned to a friendlier audience on FOX News Channel, where he acknowledged that the negative reaction was not a surprise.
“We expected that, of course, but you know I’m going to give the same message to the NAACP that I give across the country, which is that Obamacare is killing jobs,” Romney said.
That stand drew praise from some quarters, with even the NAACP praising the Republican for sticking to positions that were bound to be unpopular with his audience.
The group released a statement that criticized Romney for the content of his speech, but said he was “courageous” for addressing the unfriendly group directly.
Pelosi was not alone in thinking Romney - who was labeled an “Etch-A-Sketch” candidate during the Republican primary campaign for shifting his positions - may have solicited that reaction.
Avis Jones-DeWeever, the executive director of the National Council of Negro Women, told ABC News that Romney’s comment about so-called Obamacare was a "calculated" message to conservatives that he would not back down on repealing the law.
"That was like a victory lap on Fox News," she said. "That was exactly what he went there intending to do."
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow agreed.
"It seemed like Mitt Romney wanted to get booed at the NAACP this morning," Maddow said. "He wanted to wear that around his neck like a badge of courage. It looks like he is not wasting any time in doing so."
And some speech-watchers noted that Romney paused when the booing began rather attempting to cut it off or speak over it.
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