Cat Scratch Fever rocker Ted Nugent turned one of the final National Rifle Association convention sessions into a political rally for Donald Trump on Sunday, in part by supporting the presumptive Republican nominee's call for a temporary ban on allowing Muslims to enter the United States.
During an afternoon talk on the 2016 election, the self-styled Motor City Madman answered a Spokane, Wash., man's question on how to "stop the Islamification of America" this way:
"Raise hell with your elected officials, and Donald Trump, when he said ban Muslims, I gotta tell you, if there was a rash of dog bites in my neighborhood, and everyone one of them was by Dalmatians, I would ban spotted dogs."
While national security experts and Trump critics have said a Muslim ban would be impractical and alienate Muslim countries that are helping to fight terrorism, Nugent's Muslim rhetoric drew applause and laughter from many in the crowd of more than 1,500 people.
It was reminiscent of when former GOP presidential candidate Dr Ben Carson made a similar comparison of Muslims to rabid dogs — a comment from the campaign trail that was quickly rebuked by an Indiana lawmaker.
“It’s unacceptable, and if we have somebody running for president they’re going to be president for all people,” Rep. André Carson, D-Ind., one of two Muslim members of Congress, told The Washington Post.
Recordings of Nugent's hard-driving rock 'n' roll songs Give Me Just a Little and Dog Eat Dog greeted the NRA members as they arrived in the hall, where white spotlights swirled around stadium seating illuminated by red and blue lights. He ended his more than hour-long talk with a solo guitar performance of the national anthem.
An announcer called Nugent "the thinking man's Abraham Lincoln."
Roy and Pat Butner, who came from Nashville to attend the annual meeting, said Nugent and Trump were just talking common sense. Roy Butner said the speech was one of the best he's ever heard — with a message that made him feel even more patriotic — while acknowledging the provocative nature of his Muslim comments.
"He wasn't saying get rid of them all," Roy Butner said of Nugent's comments about Muslims.
Muslims who demonstrate they're willing to be Americans would be welcome in their home, he added. Echoing a common refrain from Trump himself, Butner said Nugent doesn't worry about political correctness.
Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump slams Hillary Clinton as \u0022heartless\u0022 for backing restrictions on gun ownership that he said would leave Americans in high-crime areas unable to protect themselves. (May 20) AP
Pat Butner said she was also inspired by Nugent's talk, which was heavy on the language of freedom, the military, gun rights and the U.S. Constitution. She didn't care for Nugent's frequent use of expletives to make his points but nevertheless gave him a pass.
"I'm not big on the cussing and foul language," she said. "But he has a way of pulling it off."
Nugent has become known for using his sharp tongue in ways that have drawn criticisms of racism, homophobia and antisemitism. NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam did not immediately answer a reporter's question about whether Nugent's message was consistent with that of the NRA. Nugent said he was proud to have been an NRA board member for more than 20 years.
When the Secret Service once came to talk with him after what had been perceived as threats on President Obama's life, he boasted of being better armed than the special agents.
While telling NRA members to vote for Trump, even though the New York billionaire once was in favor a ban on assault weapons, Nugent used his harshest words on Democratic Party leaders, including Obama, and presidential candidates Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and former secretary of State Hillary Clinton of New York.
“I could make it cute by telling you I have eight wonderful children. So I am doing my part. No. 1, breed like you mean it. We are not having enough American kids.”
Obama, he said, was "the devil."
Sanders, he said, "is a freak." He compared him to the late Chinese communist ruler Mao Zedong, then said: "Hey Bernie, eat (expletive deleted) and die." He also told him to go to communist Cuba.
And, he said, "Hillary Clinton wants to disarm you."
Clinton, herself, this week said in a Twitter post there was room for Second Amendment gun rights and stronger gun safety laws.
Nugent said he believes Trump has come around on gun rights.
"Don't give me this he's not your favorite guy," he said about Trump. "You elect him and you stay on him. There will not be a real America until you can keep and bear arms and travel America with a gun on your hip."
There were at least two mentions of the importance of NRA members having more children, including one in reference to the question about Islamification.
"I could make it cute by telling you I have eight wonderful children," he told the crowd. "So I am doing my part. No. 1, breed like you mean it. We are not having enough American kids."
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