Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod criticized Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker Monday for his comments regarding Bain Capital-related attacks against Mitt Romney.
"In this particular instance, he was just wrong," Axelrod said in an interview on MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports." "There were specific instances here that speak to an economic theory that isn't the right theory for the country."
Axelrod was responding to Booker's "Meet The Press" appearance, when the Democratic mayor said that the Obama campaign's ads on Romney's record as CEO of Bain were "nauseating." Booker, an Obama campaign surrogate, released a YouTube video on Sunday evening clarifying his remarks and encouraging scrutiny of Romney's business record.
"Mitt Romney has made his business record a centerpiece of his campaign," Booker said in the YouTube clip. "He's talked about himself as a job creator. And therefore, it is reasonable, and in fact I encourage it, for the Obama campaign to examine that record and to discuss it."
When asked on Monday if Booker's YouTube video was a request from Obama's team, campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt told CNN that was not the case.
"These are his own views in the video," LaBolt said. "He made absolutely clear that the discussion of Mitt Romney's private sector tenure was legitimate."
Others had less of an issue with Booker's comments. Morgan Stanley senior managing director and former Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D-Tenn.) appeared on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Monday, vowing that "he would not have backed off."
"Private equity's not a bad thing," Ford added.
The Romney campaign took note of what both Booker and Ford said, releasing an ad entitled "Big Bain Backfire" that packaged their words. "With no record to run on, it is no surprise that the Obama campaign has resorted to misleading attacks that have been disavowed by its own supporters," the description read.
WATCH the Romney campaign's ad: