Politics

Bachmann on Gingrich: 'Lacks poise, experience, moral fiber'

None — There’s at least one former presidential hopeful who is not in Newt Gingrich’s corner and she did not hold back in a statement released Thursday afternoon.

Michele Bachmann called Gingrich a “flawed candidate” and said he was not the best choice to lead the Republican Party forward into the convention and general election—and presumably to the White House.

Bachmann said in the statement she viewed endorsing a candidate as “the responsible thing to do,” but she did not single out a champion for the GOP in the statement, saying she still had some doubt about who to endorse.

She did provide a very clear stance on Gingrich, though.

“It was strikingly obvious that one candidate could not be less acceptable to be our party’s nominee. He lacks the poise, experience and moral fiber to represent our principles and values,” she said in the statement. “That candidate is Newt Gingrich.”

Bachmann dropped out of the race earlier this month after coming in sixth in the Iowa caucuses. Her candidacy lasted 205 days.

Here is Bachmann's statement in full: 

Former Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann has issued the following statement to voters in South Carolina ahead of their Primary this Saturday:

"For me, these past weeks have been filled with much prayer and personal reflection – which has provided some clarity. Ultimately, I recognize that endorsing a candidate is the responsible thing to do.

But it is far more responsible to ensure that candidate is one I can support with a strong conviction knowing, without any doubt, that they protect our values and have the ability to restore our nation's greatness. With some doubt still present, I am not yet prepared to offer my endorsement, but look forward to doing so in the coming weeks.

However, through this exhaustive process of consideration, it was strikingly obvious that one candidate could not be less acceptable to be our Party's nominee. He lacks the poise, experience and moral fiber to represent our principles and values. That candidate is Newt Gingrich.

In sum, our nation is in desperate need of a proven and moral leader who can point us back in the right direction – not a desperately flawed candidate like Newt Gingrich who has only proven he cannot lead."