Obama responds to Romney 'writing off big chunks of the country' on Letterman after secret video and disputes that nearly half of Americans believe they're 'victims'

President Barack Obama has accused Mitt Romney of 'writing off big chunks of the country' and rebuked his rival's claims that nearly half of all Americans believe they are 'victims' entitled to sponge off the government.
In a taping of the 'Late Show with David Letterman' this afternoon, Obama added that anyone seeking the presidency ought to be working for 'everyone, not just for some.'
The president was responding to a secretly taped video of the Republican presidential nominee which showed Romney describing '47 per cent of the people' as Obama supporters who depend on government and believe they are victims.

 

Interview: President Barack Obama told David Letterman on the set of 'Late Show With David Letterman' in new York that Americans did not consider themselves 'victims'

'My expectation is that if you want to be president, you have to work for everyone, not just for some,' the president said on the talk show, due to air later tonight.

 

He added: 'What I think people want to be sure of is you are not writing off big chunks of the country because the way our democracy works.'
It was Obama's first response to the Romney video, which roiled the Republican's campaign and put him on the defensive about his views about nearly half the nation.

In the footage, taken during a May fundraiser and posted online on Monday, Romney said it is not his job 'to worry about those people.'

First response: The president, pictured left, responded to Mitt Romney's secret video for the first time on in the taping of the 'Late Show with David Letterman' on Tuesday afternoon

 

He was referring to what he called Obama's locked-in supporters who believe they are 'entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it.'

But Obama told Letterman that when he traveled around the country he never meets anyone 'who doesn’t believe in the American dream.'

'There are not a lot of people out there who think they’re victims,' he said. 'There are not a lot of people who think they’re entitled to something.'
The president also said he did not know what Romney was even referring to with his '47 per cent reference.'

He said that when he won office four years ago, 47 per cent was the amount of voters who went for his opponent, Republican Senator John McCain.

 

American dream: Obama, pictured left, said he never meets anyone who doesn't believe in the American dream

'(Those people) didn’t vote for me and what I said on election night was: 'Even though you didn’t vote for me, I hear your voices, and I’m going to work as hard as I can to be your president,'' Obama said.

Obama, who, according to current polling, has a slight edge over Romney, said the American people work hard and just want politicians of both parties to work together to solve problems.
'One thing I've learned as president,' Obama said, 'is that you represent the entire country.'

In the Letterman interview, he said people understand that the presidential candidates will make mistakes on the campaign trail.

 

Controversy: Romney said his plan is to create jobs -- not government dependency -- for the '47 per cent'

Letterman reminded the president of his own slip up during the 2008 campaign, when audio from one of his own private fundraisers caught him saying that some residents of depressed rural areas get bitter and 'cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them.'

But Obama noted that he immediately apologised for the statement, unlike Romney who has defended his comments, labelling the remarks 'inelegant' but reflective of his views.

The president appeared on the TV show before a night of fundraising in New York City with Jay-Z and Beyoncé.