Romney also responded to a report in the Politico where he is quoted as saying at a private fundraiser that he could not "see that a cabinet position would be justified" for a Muslim.

Romney claimed the quote was inaccurate, rather that he didn't consider it important to have a Muslim in his Cabinet. "His question was: 'Do I need to have a Muslim in my Cabinet to be able to confront radical jihad and would it be important to have a Muslim in my Cabinet?' And I said no. I don’t think that you have to have a Muslim in the Cabinet to be able to take on radical jihad."

The Romney camp also asserts that Mansoor Ijaz, the gentleman quoted in the Politico report who had the exchange with Romney, is a Democratic fundraiser with a political agenda.

Asked if he would be open to having a Muslim person in his Cabinet, Romney stated he is "open to having people of any faith and ethic group but it would be based upon their capacity and their capabilities and the values and skills that they could bring to the administration.

"But I don’t choose people based on checking off a box," Romney added.