Mitt Romney joined Fox News for an interview aired Sunday, ending a four-month absence after losing the 2012 presidential campaign. Last year’s GOP presidential nominee discussed a range of political topics, including the sequester, his campaign, and the problems facing the Republican Party. Romney accused President Obama of “playing politics” with sequester budget cuts, and shared his regrets over the lost election.
“It kills me not to be there in the White House doing what needs to be done,” he said. “The hardest thing about losing is watching this critical moment, this golden moment slip away with politics.”
When asked about the now infamous “47 percent” video that has been linked to his loss, Romney admitted his own misstep. He said the statements made to a group of campaign donors were “unfortunate,” and claimed they were misinterpreted. But he acknowledged the damage done to his image.
“That hurt, there is no question that hurt and did some real damage to my campaign,” he said. The final election tally showed Romney earned 47 percent of the vote, an ironic statistic.
Romney also acknowledged the problems facing the Republican Party as it attempts to repackage its image before the next election. Several GOP leaders have commented on diversity issues within the party after Romney failed to capture a large percentage of minority votes. Romney mentioned the problems, but added that he may not be the ideal leader.
“I’m not going to be telling the Republican Party, ‘come listen to me,’ the guy who lost is going to tell you how to win,” Romney said. “We have to do a better job bringing minority voters in to vote for Republicans … to help them understand why we’re the party with the ideas to make their lives better.”
These days Romney is spending time with his grandchildren, and retooling his humanitarian efforts to focus on helping children.
