Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, a prominent surrogate for Mitt Romney's campaign, said Tuesday of the Republican nominee's controversial remarks at a closed-door fundraiser that he "would say it probably differently today."
"I think what the governor is trying to say, and he said he didn't say it right, is what has been reported, but what he's trying to say is that the number of people on food stamps and that have to depend on the government because of the lousy Obama government, 43 months of 8 percent [unemployment] is unacceptable and he [Romney] wants more people to be able to get back to work, make more taxpayers so we can get ourselves out of this debt by having more people with access to the American Dream," McDonnell told Fox News.
The Virginia governor went on to admit that the Republican presidential candidate could have phrased his critique better.
"He would say it probably differently today, but it is a significant problem when you have this level of people that don't pay significant amount of taxes because they can't earn a good living," McDonnell said. "So job creation, economic development through these plans, I think, are exactly the right formula for the country."
The video, released Monday by the liberal magazine Mother Jones, was surreptitiously recorded at a closed-door fundraiser at the Boca Raton, Fla., home of private equity banker Marc Leder.
Romney is shown saying that many Americans are "dependent upon government" and "believe they are victims."
"There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what," Romney is shown saying. "All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to healthcare, to food, to housing, to you name it."
The GOP presidential nominee goes on to say his "job is is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."
At a press conference Monday night, Romney admitted his comments were "not elegantly stated" and that he was "speaking off the cuff."
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