Mitt Romney will address his much-criticized "47 percent" comments during the second presidential debate Tuesday night if the remarks come up, a top Romney aide said Tuesday.
Eric Fehrnstrom, a senior adviser to Romney, said the GOP nominee would comment on remarks he made during a closed-door fundraiser earlier in the year in which he said that 47 percent of the country would never vote for him. Romney also said in those remarks that 47 percent depended on government handouts.
"Of course he wants to be president of all America, all Americans — 100 percent of Americans. And he'll address that tonight should the subject come up," Fehrnstrom said Tuesday on Fox News.
Fehrnstrom also noted that Romney had previously stood by the remarks but said he "expressed himself inelegantly."
Romney later called the comments "completely wrong."
The comments received strong criticism from Democrats after they were publicized. Conspicuously, President Obama didn't mention them during the first presidential debate against Romney earlier in the month even though Obama's campaign had been hammering Romney on the remarks since they were released.
Vice President Biden, however, did bring up the remarks during his debate against Paul Ryan. In response, the GOP veep contender parried the criticism alluding to Biden's famous penchant for gaffes.
"Mitt Romney's a good man. He cares about 100 percent in this country, and with respect to that quote, I think the vice president very well knows that sometimes the words don't come out of your mouth the right way," Ryan said.
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