'He won’t get the votes of a lot of people he’s discussing,' Trump said. | REUTERS Trump: Mitt shouldn't apologize

Donald Trump said Tuesday that Mitt Romney shouldn’t apologize for his remarks dismissing nearly half of Americans as dependent on government and out of the reach of his campaign, adding “what [Romney] said is probably what he means.”

“He has to not apologize; I think we’ve seen enough apologizing already,” Trump said on NBC’s “Today.” “He cannot apologize. What he said is probably what he means, and he did say ‘inartfully stated.’ The fact is he cannot apologize; he is going for those independents. He won’t get the votes of a lot of people he’s discussing, and if you’re not going to get the votes, let’s go on with it.”


Host Matt Lauer asked Trump if Romney actually believed 47 percent of Americans lacked “personal responsibility.”

( PHOTOS: 10 gaffes caught on mic)

“He’s saying that’s not really what he meant, and you’d have to ask him about it, but he’s saying that’s not really what he meant,” Trump said. “I’m sure he wished he didn’t say it. I’m sure he wished the hidden camera wasn’t there.”

In the hidden camera video originally posted by Mother Jones, Romney tells the crowd at a Florida fundraiser in May that 47 percent of Americans “will vote for the president no matter what” and are “dependent upon government.” Romney stood by his remarks Monday, while acknowledging they were not “elegantly stated.”

Meanwhile, Trump also criticized Republicans for not airing a video featuring him firing an actor playing President Barack Obama during the GOP’s national convention last month and argued the opposition party isn’t “being tough enough.”

“A lot of people wanted it [to air],” Trump said on NBC’s “Today.” “But the problem they have is, you know, they are not being tough enough. They’re not getting, I can’t say down and dirty, but that’s exactly what President Obama is doing with them. And they’ve got to fight fire with fire. The Republicans have to get tougher, or they’re going to lose this campaign.”

“Today” broadcast excerpts of the video, in which Trump gives an Obama impersonator a performance review before deploying his “You’re fired” catchphrase. The first night of the convention — when the video was scheduled to air — was canceled due to Hurricane Isaac, and the video didn’t air later in the week.

Trump said the video was the RNC’s idea and was made by “top Hollywood people.”