A video surfaced Monday morning of Mitt Romney telling a small group of supporters that 47 percent of Americans will vote for Obama because they “are dependent on the government” and “believe that they are victims.”

Mother Jones, a liberal magazine, posted the video to their website Monday morning. The video features Romney speaking to a small group of wealthy donors at a private fundraiser in May.

In the video, Romney claims Obama supporters believe “the government has a responsibility to care for them” and that “they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it." 

Romney went on to say “my job is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.”

Obama campaign manager, Jim Messina, released an outraged statement Monday evening in response to Romney’s damaging comments.

“It’s hard to serve as president for all Americans when you’ve disdainfully written off half the nation,” Messina wrote in his statement.

The Romney campaign attempted to undermine the gaffe in a statement of its own.

“Mitt Romney wants to help all Americans struggling in the Obama economy,” wrote Romney communications director Gail Gitcho, “As the governor has made clear all year, he is concerned about the growing number of people who are dependent on the federal government, including the record number of people who are on food stamps.”

Romney also issued a brief press conference Monday night to defend his remarks. He noted that while his remarks were "not elegantly stated," his campaign "is about helping people take more responsibility." Watch Romney's attempt at damage control here.

According to Business Insider, the footage, which was released by Jimmy Carter's grandson, has been around since May. Only after confirming authenticity was it officially released to the Mother Jones website.