Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani says he would advise Mitt Romney to “be yourself” on the campaign trail, as the presumptive GOP nominee fights perceptions he is unable to connect with voters.
“There’s no perfect candidate,” Giuliani said on CNN’s State of the Union. “All of us have our strengths and weaknesses. It’s no secret that Gov. Romney’s problem during the primary was that idea of making a personal connection.
“It shows in the polls and he’s doing a much better job at it and frankly my advice to him would be: Be yourself. If, in fact, you are a somewhat formal person, that’s okay. Be a formal person.”
Polls consistently show that while voters are receptive to Romney's message, in particular on the economy, he faces a likability gap against President Obama.
The Romney campaign has tried to counter the perception of Romney as aloof or out of touch.
Romney's wife, Ann Romney earlier this month insisted that the narrative was untrue, saying of her husband, "there's a wild and crazy man inside there."
"I think in politics this is what always happens — there's a narrative and sometimes you like to put people in a box and keep him in that box, and for me, I love the opportunity of letting people see the side of Mitt that people have mischaracterized," Mrs. Romney said in an interview with CBS.
Giuliani, on Sunday, said he expected voters, who were focused on the economy, to see Romney as “very intelligent, very engaged, very committed… the perfect choice for a period of time when we need to recover the economy.”
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