LONDON – Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney took his campaign to the English capital Thursday where he was met with questions about his concerns for Britain's Olympic security preparations and a controversial comment attributed to unnamed aide.
Charles Dharapak,, AP
Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney meets with British Prime Minister David Cameron at 10 Downing Street in London.
But after meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron, Romney, who directed the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, said he believed the games — set to open Friday — would be "highly successful."
His remarks came a day after expressing concern about the failure of a private company to provide its quota of security guards across the city.
Earlier Thursday, Romney said that it was "impossible for absolutely no mistakes to occur."
"Of course there will be errors from time to time, but those are all overshadowed by the extraordinary demonstrations of courage, character and determination by the athletes," the governor said.
Romney spokesman Rick Gorka also denied that a campaign official had anything to do with comments in a British newspaper suggesting that the Obama administration did not fully appreciate the "Anglo-Saxon" heritage linking the U.S. and Britain.
The comments were attributed to an unnamed representative of the Romney campaign.
"It's not true," Gorka said. "If anyone said that, they weren't reflecting the views of Gov. Romney or anyone inside the campaign."
Before their meeting though, Romney had Cameron bristling.
At a press conference outside the Olympic Stadium, Cameron was asked about the Republican presidential candidate's doubts that Britain can carry off the Olympic Games, which start Friday.
"Look at what we're capable of achieving as a nation, even in difficult times" Cameron said, gesturing to the gleaming new stadium at his back. "Look behind me at this extraordinary Olympic Park, built from nothing in seven years."
Cameron also took issue with Romney's suggestion that the British, who are often deeply divided along regional lines, might not unite in support of the Games.
"The torch relay demonstrates that this is not a London Games, this is not an England Games, this is a United Kingdom Games," Cameron said. "We'll show the whole world not just that we've come together as a United Kingdom but also we're extremely good at welcoming people from across the world. I'd obviously make those points to Mitt Romney" when the two men meet.
In an interview Tuesday night with NBC, when asked about London's Olympics, Romney said that "it's hard to know just how well it will turn out. There are a few things that were disconcerting." Romney, the chief of the Salt Lake City Games in 2002, cited the meltdown of the private security company that was supposed to provide guards for the venues and the narrowly averted strike by border guards, before going on to say that one of the key elements of a successful Olympics is "the people of the country. … Do they come together and celebrate the Olympic moment? And that's something which we only find out once the Games actually begin."
But Romney pulled back Thursday on his critique.
"It is impossible for absolutely no mistakes to occur," Romney said before meeting in London with Ed Miliband, leader of the Labour Party. "Of course there will be errors from time to time, but those are all overshadowed by the extraordinary demonstrations of courage, character and determination by the athletes."
Romney's criticism catches Cameron at a difficult moment. Even when times are good, Britons are sensitive to criticism from the superpower across the Atlantic, and times are not good. The country is suffering from a serious double-dip recession, Cameron's poll ratings are in the tank and Cameron and his allies in Britain's Conservative Party hope the Games will the lift the country's sour and pessimistic mood.
This is not the first time that a U.S. presidential candidate has started out on a frosty note with Cameron. After meeting Cameron in 2009, then-candidate Barack Obama reportedly said, "What a lightweight!" The two men later patched things up well enough to watch a U.S. basketball game together, the prime minister even catching a ride on Air Force One.
Contributing: Traci Watson, wire reports
Charles Dharapak,, AP
Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney meets with British Prime Minister David Cameron at 10 Downing Street in London.
But after meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron, Romney, who directed the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, said he believed the games — set to open Friday — would be "highly successful."
His remarks came a day after expressing concern about the failure of a private company to provide its quota of security guards across the city.
Earlier Thursday, Romney said that it was "impossible for absolutely no mistakes to occur."
"Of course there will be errors from time to time, but those are all overshadowed by the extraordinary demonstrations of courage, character and determination by the athletes," the governor said.
Romney spokesman Rick Gorka also denied that a campaign official had anything to do with comments in a British newspaper suggesting that the Obama administration did not fully appreciate the "Anglo-Saxon" heritage linking the U.S. and Britain.
The comments were attributed to an unnamed representative of the Romney campaign.
"It's not true," Gorka said. "If anyone said that, they weren't reflecting the views of Gov. Romney or anyone inside the campaign."
Before their meeting though, Romney had Cameron bristling.
At a press conference outside the Olympic Stadium, Cameron was asked about the Republican presidential candidate's doubts that Britain can carry off the Olympic Games, which start Friday.
"Look at what we're capable of achieving as a nation, even in difficult times" Cameron said, gesturing to the gleaming new stadium at his back. "Look behind me at this extraordinary Olympic Park, built from nothing in seven years."
Cameron also took issue with Romney's suggestion that the British, who are often deeply divided along regional lines, might not unite in support of the Games.
"The torch relay demonstrates that this is not a London Games, this is not an England Games, this is a United Kingdom Games," Cameron said. "We'll show the whole world not just that we've come together as a United Kingdom but also we're extremely good at welcoming people from across the world. I'd obviously make those points to Mitt Romney" when the two men meet.
In an interview Tuesday night with NBC, when asked about London's Olympics, Romney said that "it's hard to know just how well it will turn out. There are a few things that were disconcerting." Romney, the chief of the Salt Lake City Games in 2002, cited the meltdown of the private security company that was supposed to provide guards for the venues and the narrowly averted strike by border guards, before going on to say that one of the key elements of a successful Olympics is "the people of the country. … Do they come together and celebrate the Olympic moment? And that's something which we only find out once the Games actually begin."
But Romney pulled back Thursday on his critique.
"It is impossible for absolutely no mistakes to occur," Romney said before meeting in London with Ed Miliband, leader of the Labour Party. "Of course there will be errors from time to time, but those are all overshadowed by the extraordinary demonstrations of courage, character and determination by the athletes."
Romney's criticism catches Cameron at a difficult moment. Even when times are good, Britons are sensitive to criticism from the superpower across the Atlantic, and times are not good. The country is suffering from a serious double-dip recession, Cameron's poll ratings are in the tank and Cameron and his allies in Britain's Conservative Party hope the Games will the lift the country's sour and pessimistic mood.
This is not the first time that a U.S. presidential candidate has started out on a frosty note with Cameron. After meeting Cameron in 2009, then-candidate Barack Obama reportedly said, "What a lightweight!" The two men later patched things up well enough to watch a U.S. basketball game together, the prime minister even catching a ride on Air Force One.
Contributing: Traci Watson, wire reports