"Daily Show" host John Stewart wasted no time in chiding the National Rifle Association for its incendiary new attack ad targeting President Barack Obama and his recent call for further gun control measures in the wake of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary.
After airing the ad on his Comedy Central program Wednesday, Stewart sat for a moment in apparent disbelief. He said the ad, which calls Obama a "hypocrite" for sending his children to school with armed guards when he opposes such a policy nationally, couldn't possibly have been serious.
"I swear to you, if I didn't know any better, and I'm not a big conspiracy guy, after seeing that ad, I would think the NRA is either an elaborate, avant-garde, Joaquin Phoenix-style joke, or a false flag operation run by Michael Moore in an attempt to discredit responsible gun owners," Stewart said.
As for the NRA's logic that Obama is a "hypocrite" for keeping his daughters protected by armed guards, Stewart joked: "Yeah, why does he get to veto bills and command an army when we don't?"
How did Obama respond to the ad? While introducing his new gun control proposals, the President said he believes the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to bear arms and that he thought most gun owners would agree that steps should be taken to prevent violence while respecting the constitution.
"Interesting open on his part," Stewart said of Obama's response. "I thought he was gonna go with, 'If you bring up my kids again, I will drone strike your s*** to kingdom come.'"
Stewart also went on to poke fun at the fact that the ATF, the government agency in charge of regulating alcohol, tobacco, and firearms, hasn't had a director in 6 years. The acting director of the agency is B. Todd Jones, a U.S. attorney from Minnesota.
After falling silent as the nation mourned those lost in the Sandy Hook shooting, the NRA has been ramping up its rhetorical efforts to fight new gun control legislation. According to Politico, the NRA has now released its D.C. lobbying force after keeping them "on lockdown in the first month after the Newtown massacre."
"At some point the NRA's Washington lobbyists may realize that [these kind of ads are] making them irrelevant," Mark Glaze, director of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, told Talking Points Memo. "It does nothing but offend the reasonable people who make up the bulk of their country - and the bulk of their own membership."
Like Stewart, Glaze thought the NRA ad's main focus was too ridiculous to take seriously.
"I'm guessing Sasha and Malia would be delighted not to have security," he said, "but their dad happens to be president."
NRA attack ad:
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