Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) stopped by CNN this morning and addressed her embarrassing gaffe where she told a reporter the actor John Wayne was born in Waterloo, IA right after she kicked off her presidential campaign in the town.
Wayne was acutally born hours away in Winterset, IA. The John Wayne Waterloo is connected with is John Wayne Gacy, the notorious serial killer who committed a couple of sex crimes in the town in his 20s.
Bachmann pointed out that the actor John Wanye’s parents lived briefly in Waterloo, and then said she was making a larger point about Wayne’s connection to her native Hawkeye State than about his connection to Waterloo.
“John Wayne’s parents first home was in Waterloo, Iowa and he was from Iowa and of course the main point I was making are the sensibilities of John Wayne, which is patriotism, love of country, standing up for our nation, that positive enthusiasm is what America’s all about,” Bachmann told CNN. “And that’s of course my main point.”
Here’s what Bachmann told Fox News right after she announced her candidacy for president:
“What I want them to know is just like, John Wayne was from Waterloo, Iowa. That’s the kind of spirit that I have, too.”
The confusion threatened to overshadow her kickoff address, yesterday. Bachmann told CNN it won’t affect how people see her.
“People can make mistakes and I wish I could be perfect every time I say something, but I can’t,” she said. “But one thing people know about me is that I’m a substantive, serious person and I have a strong background.”
Watch:
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.
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