The Hill News

Newt Gingrich sought to capitalize on Mitt Romney's comment that is not "concerned about the very poor."

"I am fed up with politicians in either party dividing Americans against each other," Gingrich said in Reno, Nevada on Wednesday according to The Associated Press. "I am running to be the president of all the American people and I am concerned about all the American people."

Earlier on Monday, the former Massachusetts governor said he was not overly worried about the very poor or very wealthy.

"I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs a repair, I’ll fix it," Romney said in an interview with CNN. "I’m concerned about the very heart of America, the 90-95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling. I’ll continue to ! take that message across the nation."

The comments sparked strong criticism from Rommey's opponents who have worked to portray Romney as an out-of-touch businessman. 

In the same CNN interview, Romney stuck by his comment in a followup question. 

You can choose where to focus. You can focus on the rich. That’s not my focus. You can focus on the very poor. That’s not my focus," Romney continued.

"My focus is on middle income Americans, retirees living on social security, people who cannot find work, folks who have kids that are getting ready to go to college," Romney said. "That, these are the people who’ve been most badly hurt during the Obama years."