August 19, 2018

Mitt Romney Covers Breaking News!

The Senate candidate took a break from the campaign trail to take some photos.

June 26, 2018 - Orem, UT, USA - Mitt Romney and Ann Romney celebrate onstage after Mitt was declared the winner of the 2018 Utah Republican Senate Primary on June 26, 2018, in Orem, Utah. Brian Cahn/TNS via ZUMA Wire

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.

Mitt Romney has been busy shaking hands and knocking on doors for the past six months, while he runs to replace Orrin Hatch as the new senator from Utah. But he apparently took a few minutes off the campaign trail Friday night to take some video and still photos of an unfolding disaster in his Holladay, Utah, neighborhood:

Romney is famous as a very wealthy guy who still pumps his own gas, shovels his own walk, and takes a hands-on approach to home improvements. So perhaps it’s no surprise that he was on the scene to capture footage of a garage and camper going up in flames at a house just a 10-minute walk from his own.

At least 20 firefighters responded to the blaze; no one was injured. Romney’s photos suggest, though, that he recognized the news value of the neighborhood disaster. His campaign sent the video and photos to the local Sinclair News Broadcast station in Salt Lake City, KJZZ, which published them without fanfare—just a modest photo credit reading “Courtesy Mitt Romney.” 

KJZZ confirmed that the photographer was indeed the former GOP presidential nominee and now Senate candidate Mitt Romney. 

 

4 DAYS LEFT—AND EVERYTHING RIDING ON IT

A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

With just 4 days left, we need a huge surge in reader support to get to our $400,000 year-end goal. Whether you've given before or this is your first time, your contribution right now matters. All gifts are 3X matched and tax-deductible.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do. That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

4 DAYS LEFT—AND EVERYTHING RIDING ON IT

A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

With just 4 days left, we need a huge surge in reader support to get to our $400,000 year-end goal. Whether you've given before or this is your first time, your contribution right now matters. All gifts are 3X matched and tax-deductible.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do. That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate