Rick Santorum on Friday walked back calling President Barack Obama a "snob" for wanting every American to complete some higher-level education.

Speaking with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, the GOP presidential hopeful acknowledged his word choice was "a little over the top" but defended it within the context of the speech he was giving.

"I was giving a long riff about the president mandating things on people. I was talking about the government and president mandating health care and, you know, what kind of loans we're going to get," he said. "I went in and talked about the, you know, the — the issue of — of him now coming forward with the statement that every child should go to college. And — and it was this attitude that government knows best."

Santorum continued, "It was a strong term, probably not the smartest thing but you know what, I don't give prepared talking points speeches written by other people."

As The Blaze previously reported, Santorum was speaking during a campaign stop in Michigan last week when he said: "President Obama said he wants everybody in America to go to college. What a snob!"

Watch below, via CNN: