Romney calls on Perry to "repudiate" anti-Mormon remarks
Updated at 4:05 p.m. ET
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Tuesday called on his rival Texas Gov. Rick Perry to repudiate comments by Texas pastor Robert Jeffress, who endorsed Perry and called Mormonism as "a cult."
"I just don't believe that kind of divisiveness based on religion has a place in this country," said Romney, who is Mormon. "I would call on Gov. Perry to repudiate the sentiment and the remark made by that pastor."
Perry has said he rejects Jeffress' characterization of Mormonism as a cult, but a spokesman for Perry said today he refuses to disavow the pastor, the Associated Press reports.
"Governor Perry is going to focus his campaign on improving the economy and creating jobs, issues that matter to Americans," spokesman Mark Miner said in a statement to CBS News. "Mitt Romney's comments are a distraction from the the fact that Romneycare served as a blueprint for Obamacare."
Following Jeffress' remarks at the conservative Values Voter Summit in Washington, Romney condemned such "poisonous language" and called for tolerance among conservatives. He did not, however, directly address the remarks until today.
Romney made the comments in New Hampshire where he received the endorsement of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who also condemned Jeffress' remarks.
"These types of religious matters have nothing to so with the quality of somebody's ability to lead," he said.
Christie compared the controversy to the criticism he received for appointing a Muslim judge. He said to associate with Jeffress "is beneath the office of the presidency."
