Romney plays down $10k wager with rival

MITT ROMNEY scrambled last night to recover from a debate disaster in which he challenged a fellow White House contender to a $10,000 (€7,500) bet, saying the sum had merely been rhetorical.

“I put out an outrageous number for an outrageous charge,” Romney explained on Fox News, as his campaign team continued to try to douse controversy from the remark made during a pivotal moment in a debate in New Hampshire.

The bet was offered during an exchange between Romney and Texas governor Rick Perry, who quarrelled over details in Romney’s campaign book of his healthcare reform policy while he served as governor of Massachusetts.