Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has blamed his election loss on "gifts" to minorities by President Barack Obama.
Mr Obama gave "a lot of stuff" to African Americans, Hispanics and young voters - groups that were key to his victory, Mr Romney told donors on Wednesday.
The BBC reports the comments were his first since his concession speech on election night.
Mr Romney lost the election on 6 November by a wider margin than expected. He won 206 electoral votes and Mr Obama won 332.
"The Obama campaign was following the old playbook of giving a lot of stuff to groups that they hoped they would get to vote for them ... specifically the African-American community, the Hispanic community and young people," Mr Romney is reported to have said.
The Los Angeles Times newspaper said that he did not seem to be aware of journalists listening to the call.
