The fact that more Americans are back at work, particularly during what can best be called a stagnant economy, is the sort of news that should first be celebrated by any political aspirant before leveling heated political rhetoric. So Romney’s gut-level reaction to the news seems tone deaf at best, politically incompetent at worst.
Romney said “This is the slowest recovery we’ve seen since Hoover,
Host Brian Kilmeade seemed taken aback by Romney’s harsh reaction, and seemed to plead for the GOP presidential contender to reconsider his rhetoric, asking, “8.6, but below 9%, which is at least going in the right direction for the country.” At this point, Romney appeared to catch himself and pivoted his reply in a more positive light, saying “it’s very good news, obviously, going into the holiday season, people are shopping again, very good news that the unemployment rate is down.” For good measure, however, he got one last dig in, saying “but look overall at the president’s record on the economy, it’s been miserable.”
Watch the clip below, courtesy of Fox News: