Michele Bachmann On Jerry Sandusky Penn State Sex Abuse Scandal: I'd 'Beat Him To A Pulp'

Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann had some fighting words for former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky, charged this month for sexual abuse toward young boys.

"I think my automatic reaction would be, even though I'm a small woman, I'd want to go find that guy and beat him to a pulp," Bachmann said on NBC's "Meet The Press" Sunday.

The Minnesota congresswoman said she looks at the "horrific" incident through the lens of a mother. "I think that's what any parent would want to do when they think about their child," she explained about her impulse toward violence.

Sandusky, the retired assistant to Penn State's beloved head coach Joe Paterno, was arrested and charged with 40 counts of sexual abuse involving eight boys over a 15-year period.

Bachmann said she has no doubt justice will be done now that the Penn State scandal has garnered so much national media attention.

On Friday, President Barack Obama said that the Penn State scandal should lead Americans to do some "soul-searching."

"Obviously what happened was heartbreaking, especially for the victims, the young people who got affected by these alleged assaults," he told Westwood One Radio in an interview Friday night.

"And I think it's a good time for the entire country to do some soul-searching -- not just Penn State. People care about sports, it's important to us, but our No. 1 priority has to be protecting our kids. And every institution has to examine how they operate, and every individual has to take responsibility for making sure that our kids are protected."

The slideshow below chronicles Michele Bachmann's 2012 campaign: