One of the more revealing moments in the Netflix documentary “Mitt” is the revelation that Florida Governor Charlie Crist stabbed Romney in the back just days before the 2008 Florida primary.
Crist had promised Romney he would stay neutral in that race, but then came out in favor of John McCain, who ended up squeaking out a win in the delegate rich state.
Tagg, one of the innumerable Romney boys, took it especially hard. “Charlie Crist had promised my dad multiple times that he was going to stay neutral,” he says. “He talked to many people on our campaign and he promised them all he was going to stay neutral.
“And now he has announced he is going to endorse John McCain. Now it’s two days before the election. This is a big deal. It’s a tight race, and it’s probably enough to tip it in McCain’s favor.”
When Romney learned that Crist had lied to him, a look of grief came across his face. He looked down at the carpet, and his eyes glazed over. He was angriest that Crist hadn’t told him it was coming.
“You do something like this, you call and say, ‘Look, I made a decision,'” Romney said.
“And by the way, we had talked to him and we said, ‘Are you going to endorse somebody?’ And he said, ‘No.'”
