Mitt threatened to cancel Univision forum unless the network allowed him to bus in more of his supporters

9/22/2012 5:30pm by 435

Buzzfeed reports that a Latino-fied Mitt Romney threatened to pull the plug on his Univision forum earlier this week unless the network gave in to his demands, including busing in additional Romney supporters and retaping the event’s introduction.

Moderator Maria Elena Salinas told BuzzFeed that tickets for both the Romney and Obama forums were split between the campaigns, with both agreeing to keep the audience filled with mostly University of Miami students, who hosted the event.

However, finding little luck in gathering conservatives around campus (a National Journal poll has Obama currently leading Romney among college students, 63-27 percent), the campaign threatened to “reschedule” if not given an exemption to the student-only rule and allowed to bring in “rowdy activists from around southern Florida in order to fill the extra seats.”

Like a beleaguered Romney housekeeper, the network gave in to his demands.

“We were a little bit thrown because it was supposed to be a TV show, it wasn’t a rally,” Salinas said of the audience change. “It was a little bit of disrespect for us.”

Additionally, while being introduced at his forum, Romney allegedly threw a tantrum and refused to come out on stage after the forum moderators mentioned that he “had agreed to give the network 35 minutes, and that Obama had agreed to a full hour the next night.” The network was forced to re-tape the introduction and instead mention the time differences at the end of the forum.

Is this a presidential campaign, or Mariah Carey’s rider demands on “American Idol”?

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Gabe Ortíz is a San Francisco-based writer. He has contributed to the Mission's bilingual newspaper "El Tecolote," and the political blogs AMERICAblog, AMERICAblog Gay, and Veracity Stew. He's also a Stevie Nicks lover and shameless catlady. Follow him on Twitter: @Tusk81.

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