Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) says that, yes, President Obama is running “a gangster government.” And, yeah, he probably doesn’t like America very much either.
Appearing this morning on Meet The Press, Bachmann refused to back away from some of her stronger anti-Obama rhetoric. Confronted with her past statements about Obama, Bachmann — the chair of the House Tea Party Caucus and a potential Republican contender for the White House next year — essentially doubled down, declining to answer questions about her perceived “extremism.”
“I don’t take back my statement on gangster government,” she said. “I think that there have been actions that have been taken by this government that I think are corrupt, thoroughly corrupt.”
“I believe the actions of this government have been emblematic of ones that have not been based on true American values,” she said before laying into “Obamacare,” the central focus of her appearance this morning.
“You think the president has anti-American views?” host David Gregory asked.
“I said I had very serious concerns about the president’s views,” Bachmann replied. “And I think the president’s actions in the last two years speak for themselves.”
Bachmann would not say when and if she’ll make a decision about running for president. And for the most part, she evaded Gregory’s direct questions on the budget fight and on the influence of the tea party on the House Republican caucus, preferring to stick to what appeared to be prepared talking points about the president’s health care plan.
Watch the full interview:
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Evan McMorris-Santoro
Evan McMorris-Santoro has covered politics for TPM since 2009. Before that, he was a reporter at National Journal’s Hotline covering election 2008. He started his career covering local politics at newspapers in TN and his native NC.