On NBC’s Meet the Press, host David Gregory grilled Rep. Michele Bachmann (R., Minn.) on her political and religious views.
Gregory first narrowed in on Bachmann’s refusal to vote for an increase in the debt ceiling. “Why should we trust your judgment that that was the right thing to do?” he asked.
“Because that’s the judgment of the people of this country,” Bachmann replied.
“But this is why we have elected representatives, Congresswoman, who actually know the true financial impact of a step like this,” Gregory retorted. “Would you have voted the same way if you were the deciding vote?”
“Remember, I introduced a bill that would not have had the United States default; the president did not,” Bachmann said. She then criticized the president for warning senior citizens that they might not get their Social Security checks. “He’s the one who threatened default.”
Later, Gregory interrogated Bachmann about her religious views. After playing a clip of the congresswoman quoting the biblical instruction for wives to “submit” to their husbands, Gregory asked, “Is that your view of women in America?”
When Bachmann argued that “submission” meant “respect,” Gregory joked, “Congresswoman, I didn’t even have to check with my wife, and I know those two things aren’t equal.”
“Well in our house, it is,” Bachmann shot back.
Near the end of the segment, Gregory asked Bachmann about her views on gays and lesbians. He played a clip of Bachmann saying that the gay lifestyle was “personal bondage, personal despair, and personal enslavement.”
“I am running for the presidency of the United States, I’m not running to be anyone’s judge,” Bachmann replied.
Watch the full clip below.