Fact Check

Michele Bachmann on Columbus Day

A parody page, not former Republican congresswoman Michele Bachmann, said Christopher Columbus was the first person to set foot on the North American continent.

Published Oct. 11, 2016

 (Wikipedia)
Image Via Wikipedia
Claim:
Michele Bachmann said that Christopher Columbus was the first person to set foot on the North American continent.

On 10 October 2016, an entertainment Facebook group called "Stop the World, the Teabaggers Want Off" published a meme featuring an image of Michele Bachmann alongside the text of something she supposedly said about the Columbus Day holiday:

bachman columbus day

Of course I celebrate Columbus Day. He founded America with God's help. Nobody was here before him. Without Columbus this entire continent would be an empty piece of land.

This is not a real quote from the former Republican congresswoman (and presidential candidate). "Stop the World, the Teabaggers Want Off" is an entertainment Facebook group that frequently creates fake quotes mocking politicians; Bachmann is apparently one of their favorite targets, as the group has attributed several fake quotes to the former United States representative, including one saying that China kept "illegal Mexicans" out of their country by building the Great Wall of China.

Columbus Day has become an increasingly controversial holiday, as more cities adopt measures to change the name and focus of the holiday to "Indigenous Peoples' Day" in celebration of the millions who lived on the American continents before their "discovery" by European explorers.

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.