In front of a sold out Lee Hall Auditorium on Mississippi State University’s campus, Gov. Mitt Romney delivered a speech to students and supporters as part of MSU’s Global Lecture Series.
Speculation in Washington, D.C., that the 2012 GOP presidential candidate would be announcing his intention to run again in 2016 brought a slew of national media to the event: the Associated Press, The Boston Globe, The New York Times, Bloomberg and The Washington Post.
The first remarks of the night were directed at the media throng. Rhonda Keenum, a former George W. Bush staffer and wife to MSU president Mark Keenum, lambasted the national media for describing Romney’s trip to “the poorest state in the nation.” She encouraged outsiders to think of Mississippi as “the most religious state in the nation.”
Romney poked fun of himself early and often in his speech. He got the sharply-dressed crowd laughing about his college life as an English major (“Which meant I had no idea what I wanted to do.”) and campaigns.
“The most remarkable part of my life’s journeys was only recently completed: running for president,” Romney said. “In case you hadn’t heard, I lost.”
He turned those losses into positives and told the students they would likely forget most of what they learn in college, but they would cherish relationships built there.
“Hold on to the friends you make here at Mississippi State University,” Romney said. “They will be with you in your mind and in your heart a lot longer than the lessons of the classroom.”
He encouraged the students to strive for a greater purpose.
The speech was a Venn diagram address of life lessons for students and campaign-esque messages. Romney did not officially declare his candidacy, but the speech veered into what sounded like a campaign stop, complete with sign-waving and extended cheers after Romney said, “You may have heard that I’m thinking of running for president again.”
Romney’s main political focuses were creating stouter foreign policy and income inequality. He said conservative policies needed to be implemented to raise people out of generational poverty. He told students he wanted to see an America where high paying jobs were coming to college graduates.
Although neither of them has officially declared for 2016, Romney took time in his speech to jab at Hillary Clinton. He claimed the former Secretary of State was too soft on Russia and didn’t understand how to bring jobs to the American people.
Amy Tuck, former Mississippi Lt. Gov. and current MSU vice president of campus services, moderated a question and answer session after the speech. Questions came from students and community members via social media. Many of the questions focused on the economy and national security. Romney said that improved economic conditions domestically decrease the risk of homegrown terror.
“I believe the United States of America should use our resources, financial and otherwise, to encourage the development of institutions and practices that can help lift people out of poverty and put people to work,” Romney said. “That, I believe, will improve the conditions that in many respects, lead to the radicalization of young people.”
Romney focused on income inequality in the Q-and-A portion and encouraged improved salaries for teachers to attract the best to schools. He called for the 2016 Republican candidates to make better efforts at reaching out to non-white communities.
The speech and responses to Tuck’s questions were frequently interrupted by rousing applause from the young, Republican crowd. The room reached peak noise at the end of the night when Romney was presented with his own Bulldog cowbell, which he rang to cheers of the crowd. Romney joked he would not be declaring his intent to run, because it would be nowhere near as exciting as news that Dak Prescott, the quarterback on MSU’s football team, was returning for his senior season, but he had many supporters in Starkville.
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