Mitt Romney said Tuesday that President Barack Obama was doing "a good deal worse" than he expected as he shot down rumors he will take another shot at the White House come 2016, the Washington Times reported.
Speaking at a West Virginia event for three Republican candidates for Congress, Romney said Obama's performance was more than lacking when it comes to the U.S. economy and the situations in Iraq and Russia.
Obama is doing "a good deal worse than I ever expected," Romney said to a cheering crowd that chanted his name when he took the stage, the Washington Times reported.
"I was not a big fan of the president's policies, as you know, either domestically or internationally," said the former Massachusetts governor and 2012 Republican Presidential candidate. "But the results of his mistakes and errors, in my opinion, have been more severe than even I would have predicted."
Reporters and Republicans bombarded Romney with questions about his political future, practically turning the event into a rally for his presidential nomination.
"I'm not running," he said. "I'm expecting to be getting behind some good people or a good person who will be [the Republican nominee.]
Romney himself may not be running, but he's back in the election limelight by supporting more than three dozen Republican candidates for the midterm elections in November, the newspaper reported. Romney is scheduled to attend more events and fundraisers in the coming weeks.
According to a July CNN poll, there seems to be some merit to the idea of Romney for president. Romney would have received 53 percent of the popular vote if he and Obama had a rematch, the poll results showed. Obama received 44 percent of the vote.
"Of course, the president won fair and square," Romney said. "I respect the fact that he's the president, and hopefully he's able to do what it takes to get America going again."
