(CNN) – Tagg Romney, Mitt Romney's oldest son, apologized to President Barack Obama Monday for saying he wanted to "take a swing" at him during contentious presidential debates.
Obama and Tagg Romney were seen speaking on the stage after Monday's final presidential debate, held at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida. Two Obama aides said the conversation included an apology for the remark, made last week during a radio interview.
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Asked in that interview what it's like "to hear the President of the United States call your dad a liar," Tagg Romney joked about his fantasy response.
"Jump out of your seat and you want to rush down to the debate stage and take a swing at him," he said. "But you know you can't do that because, well, first because there's a lot of Secret Service between you and him, but also because that's the nature of the process. You know they're going to try to do anything they can do to make my dad into something he's not."
"We signed up for it, we've got to kind of sit there and take our punches, and send them the other way," he continued.
One of Tagg Romney's brothers, Josh, downplayed the comments in an interview on ABC's "The View."
"That brother has slugged me a couple of times," Josh Romney said. "I'm sure President Obama has nothing to worry about."
Asked about the original comments on Thursday, Romney campaign spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg said Tagg Romney was "joking about how frustrating this process can be for family."
CNN's Rachel Streitfeld contributed to this report.
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I'm glad he apologized, and glad Obama's camp said that he did. Showed some welcome maturity after what has not been a pretty campaign on both sides.
Is Tagg his real name?
I thought that threats to the president was considered a federal crime... Is it not? I mean, Fox News has a terrible track record of calling president Obama horrible things, but a straight up threat?
This has gone from the ridiculous to the sublime. Someone apologizes for a rhetorical remark and it makes top billing on CNN. Let's talk about the real story, how Obama is losing ground in key states.
Wow, how many stories will CNN reach for to paint Romney and his family in a negative light. But...Obama's family is off limits
Tagg I have never in 63yrs of life heard and seen much disrespect from haters for a president. This as you know is the first African American to occupy the White House and to think that President Obama is not welcomed there brings as many tears as the day he was elected. We have feelinngs
I predicted Romney's offspring would apology. Apple does not fall far from the tree.
This guy is crazy.
The romneys are lose with in them self
Nice to see Moral Oral making an apology, though I'm sure Obama would be more than capable of handling him.
it takes a lot of class to apologize.....a lot of people could learn from this....#class
De Taggster is making an apology tour! How about his dad apoligizing about being seriously concerned about the American Middle Class?
Irrational people automatically defens their family. Intelligent ones know to evaluate first. Romney Daddy lied. Obama told the truth. Romney Son should be ashamed of his own n his daddy's actions. I am NOT a Democrat by the way.
Tagg! You're it? Good for Tagg to man up and apologize. Glad the Secret Service had a sense of humor or this kid's butt would be in jail.
seriously? with so many issues in the world in this is on the front page?
I think it would be hard to be a kid and watch your parents go through that. I think the other sib is funny too.
Tagg Romney merely needs to keep his trap shut for the next 14 days.
Just another example of the press making a mountain out of less than a molehill.
It's called respect and that wasn't cool. He made his father look bad and that doesn't say much about where they come from
Even the dumbest of the dumb in the Nobama Campaign should know that this is a joke.
I can relate to the romney kids frustration, when I hear his dads' lies and BS I wish someone would smack him upside the head. I don't want my kids seeing a guy and his rich friends buying his way into the White House when he has been going around the country saying whatever he thinks his audience wants to hear in order to con them for their votes. And I have two daughters and two granddsughters who will all have to deal with the negative consequences of the 'holier the thou' folks who are paying his way so they can use him if he's elected. Just because he's got a ton of money and can buy whatever he wants doesn't give him and his money men the right to take other peoples' health care and education funds away. My country is NOT a business to be raped and plundered like romney and his buddies have done to companies for their own profit. We've been through that with bush and cheney and recovered from it. Learn from history and don't go backwards!
He should be arrested. If any other citizen of this country made that kind of comment I am very sure that person would be arrested.
I thought they don't believe in apologizing to people.
Tagg? Really?? Didn't think you could have a more awful name than Mitt...
Great news for CNN the Headline news.
But the oath says to defend against ALL enemies foreign and domestic.
Liberalism is the enemy of L I B E R T Y.