Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney held a rally in Lakeland, Florida, on Friday morning, just hours after his much-anticipated acceptance speech at his party’s national convention.
Romney must still be tired from last night’s big hurrah. In his stump speech on Friday, he mistakenly referred to the United States as a “company.” With his running mate Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), Romney told supporters, “We will reach across the aisle and find good people who, like us, want to make sure this company deals with its challenges. We’ll get America on track again.”
Here are Romney’s full remarks on the US’ tepid economic recovery:
“It’s not that [Obama] wasn’t trying, in my view. He was pulling the wrong direction. He didn’t know what it takes to actually make the economy work. Paul Ryan and I understand how the economy works. We understand how Washington works. We will reach across the aisle and find good people who, like us, want to make sure this company deals with its challenges. We’ll get America on track again.”
It’s not surprising Romney would make this slip. He made his name—and his fortune—turning around failing companies first at the consulting firm Bain and Company, and then at private equity firm Bain Capital. Indeed, his experience turning around failing or bloated companies is central to his pitch to voters for why he should be elected president. But voters may not appreciate Romney confusing the USA with an LLC.