New Republican Congress members like George Santos and
Anna Paulina Luna are wearing lapel pins shaped like assault style rifles.
>> To be promoting them on the floor of the House is despicable,
and I think an insult to all of the victims of assault weapons.
>> Several Republican members of Congress were seen wearing these AR 15 lapels on
the House floor, which left representative Jimmy Gomez wondering where they came
from, so let's pull up his tweet.
He shows here a picture of Anna Paulina Luna wearing an AR 15 pin along
with George Santos wearing the pin and he says,
where are these assault weapons pins coming from?
Who was passing these out?
I also wanna highlight this other tweet that he had,
which I think is very important.
He says, Anna Paulina Luna wore an assault weapon pin at today's oversight hearing,
less than 48 hours after her state experienced a mass shooting.
You can't make this stuff up, this isn't the flex you think it is.
So to what he was saying, Anna Paulina Luna is a representative from Florida,
where 11 people were the victims of a mass drive by shooting on Tuesday.
So that's why she chose to put that pin on.
But because Republicans would never miss an opportunity to take credit for
their bad deeds.
The representative who is responsible for the pins quickly outed himself.
>> I'm congressman Andrew Clyde from Georgia's ninth district.
I hear that this little pin I've been giving out on the house floor has been
triggering some of my Democrat colleagues.
Well, I give it out to remind people of the second amend of the constitution, and
how important it is in preserving our liberties.
If I missed you on the house floor, please stop by my office in Cannon,
I have plenty more to give out.
>> So it was Andrew Clyde who was responsible for giving these pins out, and
wouldn't you know it, he just so
happens to have a financial interest in promoting gun ownership.
So the Daily Beast Reported that turns out Clyde who business inside revealed
last year owns Georgia's number 4-ranked firearm store is responsible for
dishing out the pin.
He even says he has quote plenty more to give out.
So people were quick to point out on Twitter that, well, Clyde likes to amp up
and promote the most extreme elements within the Republican Party, he looked
like a coward on January 6th when he barricaded himself from the rioters.
This person says that he's unserious politician barricading against
the reality he helped create, put a pin in it, which I think is just great.
But, representative Cori Bush also took to Twitter to point out
the absolute tone deaf audacity of the stunt.
She said, while gun violence continues to be the leading cause of death for
children in our country, Republican members are wearing assault rifle pins
during gun violence survivors week, shameful.
And she's absolutely right, it is shameful.
And she's also right that it's gun violence survivors week, and
because it is, we need to talk about gun violence in America.
So let's quickly pull up some of these stats.
This is just gun violence in America, just last year.
There was 20,138 firearm deaths, and this is excluding suicides and
suicides typically account for about half of gun deaths.
So you can double that number.
There was 648 mass shootings, 332 people who were shot on K-12 school property,
and 1060 people shot and killed by the police, and
that is the highest that number has ever been in American history.
I mean, I think this is just an outrageously offensive display by
the Republicans, and it's not like they don't know,
it's Gun Violence Survivors week, I'm sure they do.
And what this really reminds me of is, NRA stunts,
particularly the stunt they pulled right after Columbine.
They held a rally just a few miles from Columbine High School just days after
the mass shooting at the school.
I mean, that's really what this reminds me of.
And incidentally, Andrew Clyde is endorsed by the NRA victory fund.
Mondale, what are your thoughts on this?
>> You can't make this up.
Where in the world does this make sense?
It is not only is it survivors week, but it's also the idea that
we're promoting assault rifles, weapons that are meant for military.
Actually, let me just say what it's for, meant for destruction,
killing other humans.
I cannot believe this,
I cannot believe the fact that these people are proud about wearing these pins.
What I do see though is,
it's people in these protected districts this goes back to something different.
Gerrymandering has to change.
We have to fix it in our country because the ninth Georgia district,
it's 76% white, and it's the Northern Georgia is a district that's drawn to
ensure that Republicans always win.
It's plus 22 in the Republican column.
And until we fix gerrymandering, these people will never be held accountable
because he can't be beat in that district unless somebody more conservative come
along and that's disastrous.
>> So my problem here is that my opinion of Republicans can't go any lower.
So this doesn't move it.
[LAUGH] It was all ready at 0%.
So look, this is a party that's now celebrating massacres.
The only thing you do with assault weapons is massacres.
What are you doing?
Are you hunting deer with it?
I mean, you're the world's worst hunter.
There's not a single real hunter who would tell you.
Yeah, I go out with assault weapons.
Makes a racket, it's ridiculous, it's not sportsmanlike.
No, it's just a murder other human beings.
Stay there now celebrating it, but that's not surprising anymore because remember
what they did the other day, speaking of pins, I mean, I don't know if he had a pin
in it or he took the pin out before he gave it to them.
But another Republican handed out grenades in Congress.
I mean, they're a bunch of lunatics that's not hyperbole.
They're mentally disturbed.
So now they're selling, I mean, this is one of the biggest problems in America is
the non stop mass shootings, 648 last year, right?
That's the stats you just saw, another word for mass shooting is massacre,
648 massacres in just one year, about almost two a day.
And the Republicans are like, yes, [LAUGH] let's celebrate it.
And where are the pins?
Well, the main weapon that people are using in those massacres.
Well, look, if that's not criminally insane, I don't know what is.
So, you just can't have a debate with Republicans.
The problem with mainstream media is that they may they go,
should we debate the pen?
And then it makes it look like, maybe massacres are a good thing.
I don't know, let's call it 50 50.
I don't wanna offend Republicans, I don't wanna offend republicans,
[INAUDIBLE] this country loves guns.
No, no, 97% of Americans want federal background checks.
But we don't get it because of lunatic Republican politicians.
Look, and these, you guys are right, it's not an accident,
Republicans don't do accidents like this.
Remember when Ronald Reagan gave a speech in Philadelphia, Mississippi in 1980 as he
was launching his campaign, that's a random little town in Mississippi.
Why launch your campaign there?
That's because three civil rights workers were murdered in Philadelphia,
Mississippi, and the point of his speech was states' rights.
That's him sending a message, a doughboy, way to murder those civil rights workers.
And this is the Republicans with that pain saying, a doughboy to all
the people who commit massacres in America, keep going, keep going.
Clyde's gotta make more money, owns the firearm store,
let alone the campaign contributions, etc.
But back to Santos for a second, 76% of the people that are in his district
say he should resign immediately, he's a disgrace, etc.
But you know what?
He might survive because one Republicans need his vote and
it's a purple district and they said we've known that all along.
But to now he's doing something relatively smart.
He's going as hardcore right wing as he can, so
he gets protected by the right wing lunatics.
If you say yes, I'm pro massacre, all of a sudden you're gonna have like,
50% of Republican voters going, wait a minute, I kinda like this guy.
Are you in favor of the school shootings too?
Whoa, I really like this guy.
And Republicans that's what you vote for, so, don't pretend that you don't and And
now tucker the other night started defending him saying,
that he only lied about playing volleyball yet.
The rest of the media is being so mean to him.
So, yeah, he might make it out of this.
>> He also had one of Republicans favorite traits, which is being a liar.
So, [LAUGH] there's that.