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Former Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann mocked President Joe Biden's Wednesday evening address to Congress, comparing it to the "invasion of the zombie apocalypse" and describing the Democratic commander in chief's proposals as "cruel."
Bachmann served as a representative from Minnesota's 6th District from 2007 to 2015, promoting right-wing policies and conservative Christian values throughout her tenure in Congress. The former GOP lawmaker has voiced strong support for former President Donald Trump and repeatedly pushed the baseless conspiracy theory that the 2020 election was "rigged" or "stolen" by Biden and Democrats.
In remarks to Victory News, a Christian program connected to Kenneth Copeland Ministries, she slammed Biden's address marking his first 100 days in office.
"This is a fake State of the Union speech, just like in my opinion—what we're watching is a coup. It's my opinion that the election was irregular. We didn't have a true election result. We had a fake election. We've had a fake presidency," Bachmann claimed.
Right Wing Watch first reported her remarks.
The former Republican congresswoman went to describe Biden's speech as "the invasion of the zombie apocalypse as far as I'm concerned." Bachmann criticized Biden' for saying he's "optimistic" and "confident," and said that "people were falling asleep" during the address.
"It was probably one of the most sad, depressing speeches I have ever heard," she said.
Bachmann added that Biden's proposals are "cruel," falsely claiming that the president plans to snatch young children "out of their parents arms" to put them into "government-run preschools."
Although the full details of Biden's universal preschool plan are still unclear, it would be expected to be an expansion of the existing public school system. Parents would still have the option to homeschool their young children or send them to private schools.
Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, did appear to fall asleep during Biden's address. Cruz has been a staunch critic of the Biden administration, leading the GOP effort to formally object to the certification of the president's election victory in January.
"I think the speech tonight, you could sum up three words: boring but radical. The speech by design was calm and dulcet tones, you know I challenge you to remember a single line from the speech. It was monotone, the chamber was nearly empty, and that really has characterized the first hundred days of Joe Biden, that he's tried to say nothing notable, he's tried to tweet nothing notable," Cruz complained in remarks to Fox News following Biden's address.
Although Trump, Bachmann and many other supporters of the former president continue to claim that the 2020 election was fraudulent, there is no evidence to support this extraordinary allegation. Dozens of election lawsuits filed by Trump and his supporters in state and federal courts have been rejected or dismissed, including by judges appointed by Trump and other Republicans.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency at the Department of Homeland Security said the 2020 election was the "most secure in American history" in a statement issued in mid-November. The agency, which was led by a Trump appointee, noted that "there is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised."
Multiple audits and recounts in key battleground states, including in those where elections were overseen by Republicans, have reaffirmed Biden's victory over Trump. And former U.S. Attorney General William Barr, who was widely seen as one of Trump's most loyal Cabinet members, said in December that there is "no evidence" of widespread fraud that would change the election's outcome.
Newsweek reached out to Bachmann for further comment.
About the writer
Jason Lemon is a Senior Politics Editor at Newsweek based in Brooklyn, New York. Prior to taking on the editor role, Jason's reporting focused ... Read more