Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the House minority leader, said she always says the same things at private fundraisers as she does in her public remarks.
"I always assume and I say what I believe and I think that's what Gov. Romney did. I think he said what he believed," Pelosi said during an appearance on NBC's "Today" show.
Pelosi's comments refer to a video clip released Monday that showed Mitt Romney at a closed fundraiser in May saying that 47 percent of the country is dependent on government aid and would never vote for him.
Romney's campaign is dealing with the fallout from the comments, which have drawn criticism from Democrats and some Republicans.
The GOP presidential nominee has said his remarks were "inartfully" worded and that he was speaking extemporaneously about campaign strategy.
Democrats have seized on the remarks to augment their argument that Romney is out of touch with the middle class.
Pelosi also said that the comments are completely fair game because there's no such thing as a private fundraising event if you're running for president.
"I don't think there's ever any private fundraiser. I think that when you run for president, everything you say should be a matter of public record, or can be," Pelosi said.
Pelosi was also asked whether she would be willing to make her future fundraisers open to the media.
"Well, that's really up to the host. People sometimes don't want cameras in their homes or whatever that is. That's really up to the host," Pelosi said. "As far as I'm concerned every event is a public event unless you're going to confession or something."
