Mitt Romney is accusing President Obama of mishandling negotiations to avert the $85 billion across-the-board sequestration cuts.
"Well, no one can think that that's been a success for the president. He didn't think the sequester would happen," the 2012 Republican presidential nominee said in an interview with Fox News set to air Sunday.
"It is happening, but to date, what we've seen is the president out campaigning to the American people, doing rallies around the country, flying around the country and berating Republicans and blaming and pointing."
The clip of Romney's comments was released Friday morning.
Romney said Obama's "campaigning" damages his ability to work with Republicans.
"That causes the Republicans to retrench and to put up a wall and to fight back," Romney said. "It's a very natural human emotion. The president has the opportunity to lead the nation and to bring Republicans and Democrats together. It's a job he's got to do and it's a job only the president can do."
On Friday Obama met with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to discuss the sequester.
In the Fox interview, Romney also reflected on life after losing the 2012 election. He compared the campaign to an "exciting and thrilling" roller coaster ride, but says he's done with presidential politics.
"We were on a roller coaster, exciting and thrilling, ups and downs. But the ride ends," Romney said.
"And then you get off. And it's not like, oh, can't we be on a roller coaster the rest of our life? It's like, no, the ride's over."
Romney and his wife, Ann, sat down with Fox for their first post-campaign interview. Ann Romney described life after the campaign as an "adjustment."
"In our church, we're used to serving and, you know, you can be in a very high position, but you recognize you're serving. And now all of a sudden, you're released and you're nobody," Ann Romney said.
"And we're used to that. It's like we came and stepped forward to serve. And you know, the other part of it was an amazing thing, and it was really quite a lot of energy and a lot of passion and a lot of — a lot of people around us and all of a sudden it was nothing."
Romney has kept a relatively low profile since the election, but is set appear at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington next month.
"I look forward to saying thank you to the many friends and supporters who were instrumental in helping my campaign,” Romney said in a statement.
