Mitt Romney is defending his comments that were secretly recorded at a private fundraising event, even though he feels they weren’t “elegantly stated,” NBC News is reporting. The GOP presidential nominee told wealthy donors in May that almost almost half of all Americans don’t pay income taxes, and they believe they’re victims entitled to extensive government support. He added that as a candidate for the White House, “my job is not to worry about those people.”

After his comments appeared in the liberal magazine Mother Jones, Romney quickly arranged a press conference to do damage control over the comments. While at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California, Romney said “of course individuals are going to take responsibility for their life, and my campaign is about helping people take more responsibility and becoming employed again—particularly those who don’t have work.”

Romney took the time to argue that his comments showed the extent of the differences between himself and President Barack Obama, and their opinions on the role of government in Americans’ lives. The Republican candidate added “I happen to believe in a free enterprise, free individual society where people pursuing their dreams are able to employ one another, build enterprises, build the strongest economy in the world.”

Written by: Karen Benardello