David Letterman says he doesn't hate Mitt Romney, and is inviting the GOP presidential nominee to come on his show.
Letterman responded to remarks made by Romney during a secretly taped video of a private fundraiser held in May.
In the video, released in full on Tuesday on the Mother Jones website, Romney is heard telling donors, “I’ve been on Letterman a couple of times. I’ve been on Leno more than a couple times, and now Letterman hates me because I’ve been on Leno more than him.”
On Wednesday’s “Late Show,” Letterman, who had President Obama on as a guest on his Tuesday night show, countered that he holds no animosity toward Romney, “I don’t hate Mitt. And I think now more than ever, he and his lovely wife, Mrs. Mitt, are more than welcome to come on the show.”
The wisecracking (and left-leaning) late-night comic added, “I’m telling you, if you think you’re going to get to the White House, you've got to spend time in this chair. And I’m telling you, we’ll get him in here and we’ll see how it goes.”
Letterman and “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno have had a longstanding rivalry. The 65-year-old CBS host couldn’t help taking a dig at his late-night foe during his Romney rant, quipping, “I certainly don’t hate Mitt because he’s been on Leno’s show. Why hate a guy who’s suffered through that?”
