WASHINGTON – Sen. Mitt Romney laughed off being outed as the owner of an anonymous Twitter account, telling USA TODAY in an interview that he didn't put much thought into the account's name when his son created it for him eight years ago.

Twitter user Pierre Delecto was found out to be Romney after the Utah senator and GOP presidential candidate mentioned using a private account to follow what was happening on the social media website. It didn't take long for Slate reporter Ashley Feinberg, who also outed former FBI Director James Comey's secret account, to discover Delecto was in fact Romney.

During a 30-minute interview with USA TODAY, Romney said the account was set up by his son, Matt, in 2011. He says it was used mainly to browse what was being discussed and read news articles.

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"I think I had eight people who were following me, so it's not like I was shaping public opinion," he added.

Romney did reply to some tweets, both from journalists and colleagues in Congress, sticking up for himself or offering his opinion on issues. It's not uncommon for politicians to use Twitter to get their views across or reply to journalists or colleagues or even stick up for themselves – but Romney's use of an anonymous account was peculiar.

When asked why he chose to hide behind a fake account, Romney said it wasn't meant to cause a stir or anything, but rather "simply to listen and to hear what was going on."

While many took apart the name Pierre Delecto hoping to find a deeper meaning in why Romney chose it for his alter-ego, Romney says he didn't put a ton of thought into it.

"You know, like with passwords, you think OK, what's my password gonna be," he said. "It's like whatever comes to your mind. Pierre, OK. Delecto means delightful."

He noted the name has both Latin and French roots, offering clues that helped unmask him. Romney spent two years as a missionary in France.

"It's not like I spent a lot of time on this," he added, explaining his son, Matt, asked what the handle would be as he set up the account. "I just gave him a name."

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His Republican colleagues in the Senate poked fun at Romney for the name. At the weekly GOP Senate lunch last week, Romney told reporters that North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis pointed out to him that steak au poivre, or pepper steak, was on the menu.

Since his cover had been blown, Romney said he still would continue to "follow things on Twitter, but I have an official site where I will be making comments."

When asked whether he would create another secret account, a Romney staffer chimed in: "You'll have to ask Pierre."