COLUMBUS, OH (TOLEDO NEWS NOW) - Toledo News Now anchor and reporter Craig Thomas was invited to interview presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his running mate Paul Ryan.
The three sat down in the Columbus area. It was the final event before the Republican National Convention and the first time the two visited The Buckeye State since announcing Ryan as running mate.
Craig had five minutes to interview them and there were no restrictions on topics. He asked Mitt Romney if he was wrong when he argued that the auto industry would collapse if the government bailed them out.
Romney replied he had said all along that Detroit needed to go through a managed bankruptcy. He said the Obama administration finally did what he had suggested, which was to go through that managed bankruptcy and then get government support. Romney said the two companies -- GM and Chrysler -- are now thriving.
Craig Thomas reports companies did go through a managed bankruptcy, but the two got government money first to stay afloat.
The non-partisan Congressional budget office says Romney's claim that companies should have and could have gone bankrupt without a bail out is not accurate. Using private finances did not appear to be an option in the fall of 2008, leaving liquidation of firms as the more likely course of action in the absence of aid.
View more of the interview in the attached video. Paul Ryan talks about compromise in Washington and both candidates discuss the gap in women voters. This portion of the interview will also air on WTOL 11 News at 5 on Monday afternoon.
