In an interview with Telemundo airing Monday night, Mitt Romney said that it was “wrong” for President Barack Obama to say Egypt isn’t an ally of the United States.
Romney appeared to be doubling down on a stance he had taken in previous interviews.
“Well, that’s obviously not a reflection of our official policy,” Romney told ABC News when asked about the president’s comments. “American official policy is that Egypt is an ally of the United States.”
At the time, Romney said he “would like to bring Egypt closer to us” and outlined steps the country would have to take to remain an ally.
This included protecting the rights of religious minorities within Egypt and honoring peace accords with Israel.
Romney said the Egyptian government “must also protect the lives and sovereignty of our embassy and of our installations in Egypt.”
The Republican nominee was sharply critical of a statement issued by the U.S. embassy in Cairo in anticipating of Sept. 11 riots in Egypt, and has had strong words about the Obama administration’s handling of recent embassy attacks.
The Obama administration and many media outlets responded that Romney “jumped the gun” on Egypt, though the White House also disavowed the Cairo embassy statement.
Romney also clarified to Telemundo anchor Jose Diaz-Balart that his “red line” on Iran would be the Tehran regime’s acquisition of nuclear capability.
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