Mitt Romney may have skipped out on President Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration in Washington Monday—but the losing Republican nominee will cap the week Friday with a visit to the nation’s capital.
Mitt and Ann Romney, who have largely avoided the spotlight since their election day loss, reportedly will be honored at a luncheon reception at the J. W. Marriott Hotel. The event will be hosted by Virginia philanthropist Catherine Reynolds and hotel executive Bill Marriott Jr., according to the National Journal — which described the invitation to the fete as draped in the American flag and called for “business” attire.
Romney rejoined the board of the hotel chain after stepping aside during the presidential campaign.
Running mate Paul Ryan, who discussed the election loss with the Wall Street Journal earlier this week, tipped his possible attendance at the Romney event in the same interview.
Romney’s visit to Washington—which was captured at the airport on Instagram by a fellow traveler—comes as Republicans wrap up three days of meetings in Charlotte. The post-mortem confab has included Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal telling Republican party faithful they must cease being the party of “stupid” and former House speaker and failed 2012 candidate Newt Gingrich extoling the need to become “happy.”
RNC chair Reince Priebus will speak Friday afternoon and according to Politico, will reportedly call for a “Republican renewal” that includes better use of technology to appeal to voters in all 50 states without abandoning the party’s core principles. Romney, of course, did not attend the party’s winter meeting in Charlotte. He also passed on the inauguration Monday, with an aide telling NBC News that he and Ann were in La Jolla and that it was “doubtful” they would even watch the president’s speech. We will have much more on the “Republican renewal” at 4 pm.
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