Coming off of his big defeat in South Carolina Saturday night, Mitt Romney sought Sunday to recover from an issue that has dogged him for the past week by announcing that he will release his full 2010 tax return, and an estimate for 2011, on Tuesday.
Romney said that his taxes had become a “distraction” in the last couple of weeks.
“I think we made a mistake for holding off as long as we did. we want to get back to the real issues of the campaign,” such as jobs and reining in the federal government, Romney said in an appearance on Fox News Sunday,
Previously, Romney had merely said that he would release his 2011 returns when they were completed in April. By then, Romney could already be the presumptive Republican nominee, thus putting the issue beyond the reach of primary voters. In addition, the 2011 returns might not be as revealing as past year returns since Romney was already a full-time candidate for president, and could have taken steps to minimize any politically damaging tax avoidance measures.
During the Sunday appearance on Fox, Romney acknowledged that the past week was not a good one for him, with Rick Santorum being officially declared the winner of the Iowa caucus Romney appeared to have won initially and with Newt Gingrich’s big win Saturday in South Carolina.
“Well, Speaker Gingrich had a good week. I think his debate sparring with Juan Williams was a great opportunity for him to show some strength,” said Romney. “It was not a good week for me. We spent a lot of time talking about tax returns and the vote change in Iowa.”
However, he added, he would show voters that he is running a strong campaign: “I can demonstrate that I can take a setback, and come back strong.”
