Romney stands by his remarks and redirects the conversation to Obama's government approach. (mnassal/Flickr)

"It's not elegantly stated, let me put it that way. I was speaking off the cuff in response to a question," said Romney, before adding, "It's a message which I am going to carry and continue to carry." 

The interview was Romney's first extended appearance since Monday's press conference, called in response to the leak of a secret video, where he called 47 percent of Americans government dependent victims. In the same clip, Romney argued the same 47 percent are committed to Obama "no matter what."

The presumptive GOP candidate clarified his statement to host Neil Cavuto in the interview, and said he was talking about the fact that he wasn't expecting to get 60 to 70 percent of the vote. 

Romney said he still goes after every group he can to get votes, even those who may not benefit from his policies and lower tax rates.

"And those that are dependent upon government and those that think government's job is to redistribute, I'm not going to get them," he said. 

In response to his statement that it's "not his job to worry about those people," Romney distinguished who are the 47 percent of people expecting government hand outs. Romney said there are certain groups who aren't paying taxes and shouldn't be, including military members and retirees. He instead referred only to those who, under the Obama administration, have "fallen into poverty, and are dependent on government."

He argued today's "problem" centers on a government reliance for aid, instead of putting good jobs back into their hands.

"I do believe we should have enough jobs and enough take-home pay to allow people to pay taxes ... I think people would like to be paying taxes," said Romney.

Romney supported his view by referencing his senior supporters, a group who largely lacks significant income and is immune from federal income tax. He said many of his senior supporters who do pay income tax are unhappy with Medicare's funding cuts of $716 billion. The Huffington Post notes that under Obama's health care law, the growth rate is cut in future Medicare spending for providers only. 

Romney used the platform to redirect the conversation to the two different government approaches taken by his camp and the Obama administration. He defined Obama's supporters as those who want a "larger and more intrusive" government, opposed to his, who want the freedom and opportunity to build individual wealth.

"I believe the right course for America is one where government steps in to help those that are in need," Romney said. "We're a compassionate people, but then we let people build their own lives, create enterprises. We believe in free people and free enterprise, not redistribution. The right course for America is to create growth, create wealth, not to redistribute wealth."

Obama continued to remain a target for the GOP candidate, calling out the president for his belief in wealth distribution. Facing his own viral video fiasco, Obama was caught on tape in 1998 saying he believes the trick to effective government action is "figuring out how do we structure government systems that pool resources and hence facilitate some redistribution--because I actually believe in some redistribution, at least a certain level to make sure that everybody's got a shot." 

The video, released Tuesday by The Drudge Report, is being widely circulated by the GOP party. It joins the viral ranks of a second secret Romney tape, where he is overheard saying that Palestinians "have no interest in peace with Israel" and are "committed to the destruction and elimination" of the country.

Reach Supervising Executive Producer Amanda Martinez here.