Jon Huntsman: GOP, Communist China Comparison 'Taken Out Of Context'

Former Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman said Monday morning that his comments seemingly comparing recent GOP actions against him to communist China had been "taken out of context."

"I said, you know, if you're not on-script and you get knocked out of an event like that, the parties are supposed to be big-tent, you're supposed to bring in all ideas," Huntsman said on MSNBC. "And I said I thought for a moment about what they do in China if you're off-script. The [communist] party, they knock you out. We shouldn’t be doing that here, we should be accommodating all voices."

On Sunday, Huntsman spoke about being disinvited from a Republican Party fundraiser after calling for an "alternative voice" and the need for a third party movement.

"This is what they do in China on party matters if you talk off-script," Huntsman said at an appearance at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, according to BuzzFeed.

"I don’t know what world these people are living in," he continued, referring to unnamed Republicans' outspoken stances on American relations with China. "Is this the best we could do?"

Huntsman exited the GOP primary earlier this year after finishing third place in the New Hampshire primary. He's since been critical of the party and lukewarm on Mitt Romney, the Republican frontrunner. On Monday, however, he reiterated that he'd vote for the former Massachusetts governor, commending Romney's "commitment to jobs and his ability to articulate a plan for getting us back in action."