The National Rifle Association released a new web ad Tuesday night, accusing President Barack Obama of being an “elitist hypocrite” for providing his daughters with Secret Service protection, but expressing skepticism over the NRA’s plan to put armed guards in public schools.
“Are the president’s kids more important than yours?” the narrator asks. “Then why is he skeptical about putting armed security in our schools when his kids are protected by armed guards at their school? Mr. Obama demands the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes, but he’s just another elitist hypocrite when it comes to a fair share of security.”
The ad immediately sparked bipartisan outrage for invoking the First Daughters to make a political point. “I mean, it is disgusting on many levels,” former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. “It’s also just stupid.”
Morning Joe co-host Joe Scarborough concurred, calling the ad “frightening and over the line.”
In response, NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam released a statement saying, “Whoever thinks the ad is about President Obama’s daughters are missing the point completely or they’re trying to change the subject.” Arulanandam did not explain why, then, the ad would start by calling out “the president’s kids.”
UPDATE: White House Press Secretary Jay Carney has released a statement blasting the ad: “Most Americans agree that a president’s children should not be used as pawns in a political fight. But to go so far as to make the safety of the president’s children the subject of an attack ad is repugnant and cowardly.”
