Sen. Richard Burr Joked About Bullseye on Hillary Clinton

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Shoots and Hits vs Shoots and Miss

November 3rd, 2016 – “Another controversial statement was made by a politician” many news outlets reported over the weekend, while citizens also exclaimed that water is wet. Republican Sen. Richard Burr, who currently finds himself in a heated down-ballot contest against Democrat Deborah Ross, made a quip on Saturday while speaking to supporters in Mooresville, North Carolina.

A recording was obtained by CNN that finds Burr saying he found assurance seeing a gun magazine with Hillary Clinton on the cover. He just didn’t understand why it didn’t have a bullseye, as well.

“Nothing made me feel any better than [when] I walked to a gun shop, I think, yesterday in Oxford. There was a copy of Rifleman on the counter.”

“It’s got a picture of Hillary Clinton on the front of it,” Burr said. “I was a little bit shocked at that — it didn’t have a bullseye on it.”

The senator was referencing American Rifleman – the NRA’s monthly magazine. Laughter quickly erupts from the group of supporters and then Burr lead into his follow up comment:

“But on the bottom right it had everybody for federal office in this particular state that they should vote for. Let me assure you, there is an army of support out there right now for our candidates.”

His comments by themselves caused a stir as some people saw them as inappropriate and threatening. But they also drew correlation to comments Donald Trump made back in August. The Republican presidential nominee jokingly said maybe there was something Second Amendment people could do to stop a Clinton presidency. His campaign later clarified that he was simply implying that those Second Amendment supporters could exercise their right to vote and elect Trump.

Burr has criticized Trump’s vulgar comments about women but says he reconciles his support for the candidate because Trump’s policy issues “aligns perfectly with where the Republican Party is.” Burr also diverged from Trump by issuing an apology after the recording was made public. “The comment I made was inappropriate, and I apologize for it,” he said Monday in a statement issued by his campaign.

In an election season that has, at times, felt like a TV series that should have been canceled a few seasons prior, the issue of how humor should be used by political leaders while discussing matters of importance has been prevalent.