TBS Conan O'Brien guests Mitt Romney Sons - H 2012
Meghan Sinclair / Team CocoRomney Boys: No, it’s not a hit Broadway musical (yet), but rather the handsome brood of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, all five of whom appeared on the Conan couch last night to answer some softball questions about their dad.
Tagg, Matt, Josh, Ben and Craig Romney — they wore name tags to help tell them apart — were game for host Conan O’Brien‘s queries, which veered away from hot-button topics like gay marriage and immigration, and instead focused on the Romney family’s penchant for lighthearted mischief-making. As an insurance policy, O’Brien had three Romney alternates — square-jawed actors he dubbed “Tragg, Lagg and Bernie” — waiting in the wings as backups, making for an amusing visual gag.
STORY: Conan O’Brien Books All 5 of Mitt Romney’s Sons
“He likes pranks, but he doesn’t like to get pranked,” middle-son Josh said, before sharing an anecdote about the time he frightened his father in the family basement. Then eldest son Tagg told the story of the time their dad wrote the letters “H-E-L-P” in nailpolish on the soles of his friend’s shoes — on his wedding day.
“It was a Catholic wedding,” Tagg said, “so when he knelt down to be blessed by the Father, the words ‘HELP’ appeared. I’m not sure they’re still friends.”
Josh also shared video of a more recent prank pulled during his father’s 2008 bid for The White House, in which he used an Arnold Schwarzenegger sound-sample board to convince his father that the former California governor had called him. It works for a few seconds, before Mitt senses something is amiss and hangs up, diving right back into his lunch.
COVER STORY: Conan O’Brien: End of the Pity Party
The sons were also game to answer true or false questions about their dad. They couldn’t qualify a rumor that Romney “could Moonwalk,” shot down reports that he “went to college on a croquet scholarship” and confirmed that he indeed “loves to sing.”
To that, youngest son Craig added that his father loves the “Taco! Burrito! What’s coming out of your Speedo?!” cheer delivered by Will Ferrell and Cheri Oteri in one of Saturday Night Live‘s popular Spartan Cheerleaders skits.
“Any time you mentioned that word, ‘taco’ or ‘burrito,'” Craig said, “You knew my dad would chime in.”
Watch the Romney sons in the videos below.
