By ,
Published December 23, 2015
MOUNT VERNON, Ohio -- Mitt Romney will stop telling the story of how he once met one of the former Navy SEALs murdered in last month's terrorist attack in Libya, after the SEAL's mother asked him not to.
Barbara Doherty, in an interview with Boston station WHDH, questioned the Republican presidential candidate's motivations for mentioning her son, Glen Doherty, on the stump.
"He shouldn't make my son's death part of his political agenda," Doherty said. "It's wrong to use these brave young men, who wanted freedom for all, to degrade Obama."
The Romney campaign immediately responded that the nominee would respect Mrs. Doherty's request.
"Governor Romney was inspired by the memory of meeting Glen Doherty and shared his story and that memory, but we respect the wishes of Mrs. Doherty," Romney campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul said in a statement.
Romney first told the story Tuesday in Van Meter, Iowa, of meeting Doherty at a Christmas party he and his wife Ann attended. Romney noted he was impressed by the man and said they shared a number of hobbies, including skiing.
Meanwhile, the wife of another slain military hero - sniper Chris Horton, killed in Afghanistan in 2011 - said she appreciated the former Massachusetts governor recounting his story, telling ABC News "it means the world to me."
"To be honest, I've been through a lot and I'm not a super emotional person but it brings me to tears," Jane Horton said in an interview with ABC.
In recent days, Romney has told several personal stories while campaigning -- a way for him to emotionally connect with voters ahead of next month's election. In addition to these two stories, he has opened up about a 14-year-old boy named David Oparowski, who sought Romney's counsel as he was dying of leukemia.
Obama has also mentioned the victims of the Libya attack on the stump, in the course of honoring them -- though he hasn't relayed the kind of personalized story Romney told in Iowa.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/romney-to-stop-telling-story-of-meeting-with-murdered-seal-after-mothers-request