Former President Bill Clinton chastised Mitt Romney for opposing the U.S. auto bailout on Thursday, saying the Republican presidential hopeful's late father -- who was governor of Michigan for three terms -- would not be impressed.
"Every time I hear Mr. Romney talking about this, I think his daddy must be turning over in his grave," Clinton said, according to the Detroit News. "We could not afford to lose a million and a half to 2 million jobs."
Romney has been a staunch opponent of the auto bailout since 2008, when he wrote an op-ed for the New York Times entitled "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt."
The former Massachusetts governor was forced to defend his position while campaigning for the Michigan primary, which he ultimately won on Tuesday. At the GOP debate held in Arizona, less than a week before the primary, Romney reiterated that auto companies should have been left to go bankrupt.
"No way would we allow the auto industry to totally implode and disappear," Romney said. "It would go through bankruptcy."
During Thursday's speech to the United Auto Workers (UAW), Clinton also praised President Barack Obama for his handling of the bailout, framing it as his greatest achievement.
"I happened to think this auto industry package is the most important thing that was initiated by President Obama and the administration," he said.
Obama's re-election campaign is wasting no time reminding voters how the president and Romney differ on this issue. In the days leading up to the primary, it aired a television ad in Michigan highlighting how Obama handled the auto bailout and emphasizing Romney's opposition to it.