Phyllis Schlafly wanted Michele Bachmann to succeed her — but she was too much of a nitwit

Conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly had hoped to name Michele Bachmann as her successor -- but she found the former Republican lawmaker's qualifications lacking.

The 91-year-old Schlafly is embroiled in a power struggle and family feud within the Eagle Forum activist group she founded over her endorsement of Donald Trump.

Schlafly explained to conspiracy theorist Alex Jones that she had passed over her own daughter, Cori, as her hand-picked successor -- which she believes may have sowed the seeds of a coup attempt, reported Right Wing Watch.

Bachmann, who retired last year from her Minnesota congressional seat, was considered as a potential successor to Schlafly -- but Eagle Forum officials found she lacked the experience and knowledge to lead the conservative interest group.

“A lot of our people wanted us to pick Michele Bachmann, and she certainly has a lot of talent, a very fine speaker and so forth,” Schlafly said. “But she knew nothing about running an organization and she knew nothing about politics outside of her own domain.”

Now the group -- and Schlafly's family -- is being torn apart in an argument over whether Trump or Ted Cruz would make a better president.

Watch portions of her interview with Jones posted online by RWW Blog: