Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney appeared on CNN Wednesday, and followed up his Florida Republican primary victory by stating that he is not concerned with the “very poor.”
The former Massachusetts governor was responding to questions from CNN’s Soledad O’Brien, regarding what his vision for restoring the U.S. economy would be. For weeks, rival candidate Newt Gingrich has attempted to characterize Mr. Romney as a wealthy businessman who is out of touch with a large portion of the working class voters that he is currently courting.
The Bain Capital co-founders comments Wednesday morning did not help to refute that characterization from Mr. Gingrich.
“I’m in this race because I care about Americans, I’m not concerned about the very poor, we have a safety net there, if it needs repair I’ll fix it,” said Mr. Romney. “I’m not concerned about the very rich, they’re doing just fine, I’m concerned about the very heart of America.”
Mr. Romney also defined the “safety net” as government funded programs that include food stamps, medicare and housing vouchers. He believes that America’s middle class needs more aid than do the “very poor” in the U.S., although he did not address whether or not he would favor creating more government funded programs aimed at helping middle income Americans.
Ms. O’Brien asked the Republican presidential candidate to repeat his comments, pointing out to him that their are a lot of “struggling” Americans that are still reeling from the downturn of the U.S. economy that might take issue with a comment like that.
“I said, I’m not concerned about the very poor that have a safety net, but if it has holes in it, then I will repair it,” said Mr. Romney, reiterating his comments.
The former Massachusetts governor followed up that comment by again stating that he is concerned with middle income Americans, such as parents that are “getting ready to send their kids to college.” Mr. Romney believes that middle income Americans have been hit the hardest during the last three years of President Barack Obama’s presidency.
Mr. Romney’s comments do have some credibility though, because in 2010, federal government spending on the “safety net” programs he listed increased to $15,000 per “needy adult,” The Atlantic reports. That would be a 50 percent increase from 2007.
However, after weeks of criticism from rival Mr. Gingrich, that included calling him a person who lives in a world of “Swiss bank accounts,” Mr. Romney’s comments on Wednesday likely did not help his appeal to lower class Americans.
Democrats have already picked up on the comment and will likely use it to criticize Mr. Romney going forward.
Jim Messina, President Obama’s 2012 campaign manager posted a reply to Mr. Romney’s statement on Wednesday to his Twitter account.
“So much for ‘we’re all in this together.’ Romney today: ‘I’m not concerned about the very poor,’” tweeted Mr. Messina Wednesday shortly after Mr. Romney’s appearance on CNN.
The former Massachusetts governor did try to clarify his comments throughout the interview, although the one about the “very poor” seems to stand out the most.
“You can choose where to focus. You can focus on the rich. That’s not my focus. You can focus on the very poor. That’s not my focus,” said Mr. Romney.
Following his victory in Florida, Mr. Romney is making campaign appearances in Minnesota on Wednesday.
