Americans had a negative reation to Mitt Romney’s response to the attacks on U.S. embassies in the Middle East, according to a Pew Research poll released Monday.
Romney falsely claimed that President Obama’s “first response” to a violent attack in Libya that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens was to “apologize for American values.” Romney backed up his claim by citing a statement released by the U.S. embassy in Cairo that was issued before Stevens was killed.
The administration said the initial statement from Cairo was not approved by Washington, and condemned the violence.
Nearly half of the Americans polled by Pew, 48 percent, view Romney’s statements negtively, while 26 percent saw them in a positive light. Fifty-eight percent of Republicans saw Romney’s reaction positively, as did 23 percent of indpendents and 5 percent of Democrats.
Forty-five percent approve of President Obama’s respose to the situation, while 36 percent disapprove.
