Ann Romney wants the fellow Republicans who have become more sharply critical of her husband's campaign to back off.
In an interview Thursday with Radio Iowa, the candidate's wife was asked what she'd like to say to these naysayers, and she responded firmly that they should knock it off.
Stop it. This is hard. You want to try it? Get in the ring. This is hard. And you know it’s an important thing that we’re doing right now and it’s an important election and it is time for all Americans to realize how significant this election is and how lucky we are to have someone with Mitt’s qualifications and experience and know–how to be able to have the opportunity to run this country.
Conservatives from Bill Kristol of The Weekly Standard, Peggy Noonan of The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times' David Brooks, and msnbc's own Joe Scarborough have called into question the direction of Romney's campaign, particularly after a secretly recorded video emerged earlier this week of Romney speaking critically of nearly half the nation's electorate.
Ann Romney dismissed the criticism as "nonsense and the chattering class," according to a Radio Iowa transcript.
"Of course being president is also hard, which is why we like to see someone who’s going to be our president run an effective campaign," noted msnbc's Krystal Ball on The Last Word Thursday. "With Mitt Romney…people had high expectations—he’s the businessman, he knows how to run things—but his campaign has been a complete disaster."
Watch the clip below to hear a portion of Ann Romney's remarks.