MSNBC’s Matthews Prolongs Bachmann Attack

Continuing on his relentless anti-Michele Bachmann tirade, MSNBC host Chris Matthews on Monday named U.S. presidents who owned slaves, using the list to skewer her remarks that the forefathers fought to abolish slavery.

Matthews, who commented that Bachmann should be glad she is not required to take a literacy test, then said the founders, and many American presidents since the founders, had slaves, naming George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, and Andrew Jackson, among others.

Rep. Michele Bachmann

“If you want to get your history from the congresswoman from Minnesota, that’s of course an option. Or you can check it out yourself. I recommend in this and in so many other cases, you do some work yourself,” Matthews said on “Hardball."

“President Reagan used to say trust, but verify. When it comes to people like Bachmann and [Glenn] Beck and [Michael] Savage and [Sarah] Palin and the rest of this jamboree, I think the smart move is to start with the verify.”

Matthews, whose attacks on Bachmann and Palin have been labeled sexist, did concede that Bachmann was not looking off center when she gave her response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address.

Critics had said that Bachmann was not looking at the camera, but Matthews noted she was speaking to a tea party camera as opposed to the one CCN was using to broadcast her response.