On the heels of raising eyebrows with remarks about last week's earthquake and Hurricane Irene, Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann sought to do damage control on Monday.
"I don't know how much God has to do to get the attention of the politicians," Bachmann told a crowd of Floridians over the weekend, according to the St. Petersburg Times. "We've had an earthquake; we've had a hurricane. He said, 'Are you going to start listening to me here?' Listen to the American people because the American people are roaring right now. They know government is on a morbid obesity diet and we've got to rein in the spending."
HuffPosts Jon Ward reports on what Bachmann had to say:
Her comments appear to link God's will with those who believe the U.S. government is too large and intrudes too much on people's lives. A Bachmann spokeswoman has not responded to a request for clarification of the congresswoman's comments.
Bachmann's comments come on the heels of remarks that Glenn Beck, the former Fox News personality, made on his radio program last week. Beck said the hurricane and earthquake were warnings to a different group: the American people. In essence, Beck said, the weather events were a dry run for people to prepare themselves for future disasters.
Reuters reports that Bachmann said during a stop in Miami on Monday, "Of course I was being humorous when I said that. It would be absurd to think it was anything else." She added, "I am a person who loves humor, I have a great sense of humor."
Bachmann spokeswoman Alice Stewart told Talking Points Memo that the comments in question from the presidential contender were made "in jest."
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