For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis, the election, and more, subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter.





By now you’ve probably heard about the secret video we published exposing a bunch of real talk from Mitt Romney as he dined with rich Republican donors. But the hour-plus footage, which left the Romney campaign reeling and provoked a full-blown eruption of “chaos on Bullshit Mountain,” is a real embarrassment of riches, as it were. Here are some telling moments that you may not have seen yet from Romney’s unvarnished Q&A behind closed doors at the $50,000-per-plate fundraiser in Boca Raton on May 17:

The GOP candidate’s biggest moments, which we first exposed in our exclusive coverage:

On the 47 percent of Americans he regards as moochers : “There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe that government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it.”

: “There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe that government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it.” On the “almost unthinkable” prospects for Mideast peace: “And I look at the Palestinians not wanting to see peace anyway, for political purposes, committed to the destruction and elimination of Israel, and these thorny issues, and I say there’s just no way.”

Romney’s closing line that night, with regard to campaigning and fundraising, seemed fitting. It was a veritable let-us-eat-cake moment: “One of the benefits I get is eating the world’s best dessert, which I will. [Audience laughs.] Thank you. [Applause.]”

Read the full transcript here, and watch the full video here.

Update: As several readers have pointed out, also noteworthy was Romney recounting the time he traveled with Bain Capital to buy a factory in China that employed “about 20,000” young women.