Donald Trump Calls Mitt Romney's 'Self-Deportation' Immigration Policy "Maniacal"

It seems real estate tycoon Donald Trump is jumping off the Mitt Romney bandwagon. The controversial entrepreneur told conservative website NewsMax that Romney's "crazy" immigration policy cost him the presidential election earlier this month.

During an interview published on Tuesday, Trump stated that Romney's "self-deportation" comment during the GOP primary debate in January set the tone of the race for the Republican Party.

"He had a crazy policy of self deportation which was maniacal," Trump said. "It sounded as bad as it was, and he lost all of the Latino vote."

Romney's comment on self-deportation suggested that economic conditions be made extremely difficult for undocumented immigrants so that they decide to leave the country on their own, CNN reported.

The Republican presidential candidate struggled to appeal to the Hispanic community, especially after announcing that he would veto the DREAM Act if elected president. However, during a fundraising event in Florida later in the campaign, Romney told supporters that Republicans should offer their own DREAM Act.

Trump also offered friendlier words to the Obama campaign and Democrats during his interview. "The Democrats didn't have a policy for dealing with illegal immigrants, but what they did have going for them is they weren't mean-spirited about it," he said. "They didn't know what the policy was, but what they were is they were kind."

This is not the first time Trump has expressed his opinion against Romney's self-deportation comments. During an appearance on Fox News in the summer, Trump said, "For people that have been here for years that have been hard-workers, have good jobs, they're supporting their family-it's very, very tough to just say, 'By the way, 22 years, you have to leave. Get out."

"I'm one of the world's very conservative people, but I have to tell you on a human basis, how do you throw somebody out that's lived in this country for 20 years," he added.

Romney only managed to gain 27 percent of the Latino vote in the general election, compared to 71 percent of Latinos who voted for Obama. Trump is just the latest Republican to deride Romney for losing the election.