Mitt Romney released a new ad Thursday that pounces on President Obama's "you didn't build that" remark on the private sector.
The ad highlights Romney's hopes to use Obama's remarks to convince voters the president doesn't know how to handle the economy.
The nearly two-minute ad features the owner of a New Hampshire metal fabricating company who criticizes Obama's comments.
"My father’s hands didn’t build this company? My hands didn’t build this company? My son’s hands aren’t building this company? Did somebody else take out the loan on my father’s house to finance the equipment? Did somebody else make payroll every week or figure out where it’s coming from?" Jack Gilchrist says in the ad.
"President Obama, you’re killing us out here ... Why are you demonizing us for it? We are the solution, not the problem. It’s time we had somebody who believes in us, someone who believes that achievement should be rewarded, not punished."
Democrats have argued Romney is taking Obama's comments out of context. Obama was speaking about roads and investments and was arguing government — with taxpayer dollars — built the roads and bridges that help companies do business.
But Romney's campaign believes the comments suggest a president who is tone-deaf when it comes to business. They see the attacks as turning attention from Obama's attacks on Romney's background in private equity, and a fight over whether he'll release more of his tax forms.
Romney's attacks on the president's stance on government and small business have intensified as the presumptive GOP presidential nominee continues to campaign, creating distinct battle grounds between the two opponents.
“The idea to say that Steve Jobs didn’t build Apple, that Henry Ford didn’t build Ford Motors, that Papa John didn’t build Papa John’s ... it’s not just foolishness, it’s insulting to every entrepreneur in America,” Romney said at a Pennsylvania campaign rally Tuesday.
Obama later offered a rebuttal to Romney's attack, defending his support for the private sector while calling for a greater role for government than his opponent.
“I believe in individual initiative and entrepreneurship and risk-taking,” Obama said. “And I believe that the free market is the greatest system on Earth to create wealth and prosperity. But just like Abraham Lincoln said, there are some things we do better together than we do on our own.”
