Obama hits back on Romney’s 47 percent comment (VIDEO)

GlobalPost

BOSTON — The plight of middle class Americans has, of course, been a key aspect of the current campaign for the White House.

Both President Barack Obama and his GOP challenger Mitt Romney have tried mightily to woo this economically-challenged group, particularly in the swing states where November's election is likely to be decided.

This strategy hasn't gone particularly well for the latter this week and on Thursday, President Obama kept up the pressure — in English and in Spanish.

During an interview with the Spanish-language TV stations Univision, Obama responded in full to the fallout over Mitt Romney's now infamous 47-percent comments.

"I've been president now for almost four years," Obama said. "But the day I was elected, that night in Grant Park where I spoke to the country, I said 47 percent of the people didn't vote for me. But I heard your voices and I'm going to work just as hard for you as those who did vote for me. That's how you have to operate as president."

Here's the full clip:

Not to be outdone, Mitt Romney also appeared on Univision Thursday.

But instead of connecting with Latino voters where he's some 35 points behind Obama, or moving beyond the "47 percent" comment, Romney's appearance on the Spanish-language station only provided social media outlets with another round of hilarity.

The trigger: the candidate's "suspiciously brown" appearance.

No, it's not been a good week for Mr. Romney's campaign.

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