This post has been updated.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said that the U.S. economy has deteriorated under the Obama administration at a fourth of July parade in New Hampshire on Monday, according to multiple reports.
The suggestion from Romney comes on the heels of the former Massachusetts governor walking back the very same suggestion last week.
"The recession is deeper because of our president," said Romney on Monday, the Los Angeles Times reports. "It's seen an anemic recovery because of our president. The people who want the status quo can vote for him, but people who want real change and jobs for Americans are going to vote for us."
Romney has struggled to stay focused on his main goal of criticizing Obama's handling of the economy after a verbal misstep last week. Pressed by an NBC producer at a press availability, Romney said, "I didn't say that things are worse." He added, "What I said was [the] economy hasn't turned around."
The Democratic National Committee jumped on the remarks, and released a web video targeting the comments.
UPDATE: Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul relays the following statement:
“If the Democrats are waiting for Mitt Romney to ease up on his criticism of President Obama’s economic record, it’s simply not going to happen. It is an undeniable fact that Barack Obama has failed to create jobs and fix the economy. He is on track to be the only president to leave office with a net job loss. President Obama and the Democrats will spend the next 17 months trying to distract voters from their horrible record on the economy – and it’s not going to work.”
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