As the nation prepares for the sequester cuts that President Barack Obama described Friday as a "slow grind" on the economy, former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney added to the political finger-pointing when he criticized the President in a Fox News interview that will be aired this Sunday. Romney attacked Obama for "berating Republicans" and failing to provide bipartisan solutions to the budget crisis.

"Now what does that do? That causes the Republicans to retrench and then put up a wall and fight back. It's a very natural human emotion," the former Massachusetts governor said to Chris Wallace in his first major public appearance since his loss to Obama in last November's presidential election.

On Thursday, the New York Times reported that House Speaker John Boehner refused requests from Congressional Democrats to negotiate a deal that would head off the budget cuts set to take effect just before midnight on Friday, a move that earned him a great deal of praise from fellow Republicans.  Boehner said that Obama is pushing too hard for increased tax revenue from the upper class. 

"The president got his tax hikes on January 1st," Boehner said bluntly after the meeting with Obama. "The discussion about revenue in my view is over. It's about taking on the spending problem here in Washington."

Romney said that Obama has spent too much time trying to pin the blame for economic struggles on conservatives.

"Look, it's politics," he said. "It's, 'OK, How do we do something that will get a headline that will make it look like those terrible Republicans aren't coming together?'" 

SEE ALSO: | Five Ways The Sequester Cuts Could Affect The Country

At the White House Friday, Obama insisted in a press conference that the blame lies with the Republicans' refusal to negotiate eliminating special interest tax breaks for the wealthy.

"It’s happening because of a choice that Republicans in Congress have made. They’ve allowed these cuts to happen because they refuse to budge on closing a single wasteful loophole to help reduce the deficit," he said.

Obama also made a bizarre gaffe while answering questions about whether or not he has tried hard enough to make negotiations with Boehner and other leading GOP members.

"...even though most people agree that I’m being reasonable, that most people agree I’m presenting a fair deal, the fact that they don't take it means that I should somehow do a Jedi mind-meld with these folks and convince them to do what’s right." 

SEE ALSO: | How U.S. Budget Cuts Will Affect California

Annenberg Radio News takes a look at how South L.A. residents believe the cuts will affect them:

Reach Executive Producer Jeremy here and follow him on Twitter