Michele Bachmann called into the Radio Iowa newsroom moments ago. My first question was about a WMUR report that her campaign staff in New Hampshire quit.
“That is a shocking story to me,” Bachmann said. “I don’t know where that came from. We have called staff in New Hampshire to find out where that came from and the staff have said that isn’t true, so I don’t know if this is just a bad story that’s being fed by a different candidate or campaign. I have no idea where this came from, but we’ve made calls and it’s certainly not true.”
I asked this follow-up: So none of your staff have quit?
“Not to our knowledge,” Bachmann said. “We’re trying to call everyone and find out if there’s any truth to the story. Everyone that we’ve gotten a hold of has said that they were shocked as well. There’s no truth to that story, so this is a rumor and I think it’s highly reprehensible for the media to publish a story without calling us, the campaign, to even find out if that’s true. This is what’s really wrong with politics. It’s highly irresponsible media to spread stories and print stories that aren’t verified and aren’t true. I think this is wrong.”
AUDIO of Bachmann’s response to questions about New Hampshire staff.
UPDATE: Here’s the Radio Iowa story, with a link to The New Hampshire Union Leader’s story on this subject.
About O.Kay Henderson
Kay is a founding member of the Radio Iowa network newsroom. In 1994, she became the network’s news director. She’s a featured reporter and commentator on Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press,” and the 2002 recipient of the Shelley Award.
I’ll bet her aides aren’t throwing sharp elbows at the press anymore.