Explosive Audio Surfaces Of GOP Senator Joking About Gun Owners Shooting Clinton

Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:27 pm

CNN has obtained brand new audio of North Carolina Republican Senator Richard Burr joking about gun owners putting a “bullseye” on Hillary Clinton.

The despicable comments come as Burr faces a close Senate race against Democratic opponent Deborah Ross. Both candidates are within a point of each other, according to RealClearPolitics.

More of the CNN report:

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The North Carolina Republican, locked in a tight race for reelection, quipped that as he walked into a gun shop “nothing made me feel better” than seeing a magazine about rifles “with a picture of Hillary Clinton on the front of it.”

“I was a little bit shocked at that — it didn’t have a bullseye on it,” he said Saturday to GOP volunteers, prompting laughter from the crowd in Mooresville, North Carolina. “But on the bottom right (of the magazine), it had everybody for federal office in this particular state that they should vote for. So let me assure you, there’s an army of support out there right now for our candidates.”

This type of rhetoric is hardly uncommon when it comes to Republican leaders in 2016. As the campaign has gone on, the hateful and violent rhetoric, particularly from the man at the top of the Republican ticket, has become increasingly worse.

At one point this year, Donald Trump suggested that “Second Amendment people” should take up arms against Clinton if she nominates a Supreme Court justices they don’t like. He also said that he’d like to “see what happens” if the Democratic nominee’s bodyguards were disarmed.

As CNN notes, Trump has never issued a genuine apology for his dangerous language – or anything he’s ever said or done – but Burr quickly came out with a statement once the audio was revealed, although it does not excuse what he said.

“The comment I made was inappropriate, and I apologize for it,” the Republican senator said, according to CNN.

This type of imagery has no place in our politics, regardless of whether it’s being said in public or private, especially given the heightened level of anger and hatred toward Hillary Clinton from Trump supporters.

Whether it’s Trump or Burr, voters should remember their irresponsible language when they go to vote in just one week.

Sean Colarossi

Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.