There was a minor incident, if you want to call it that, at a campaign event for Missouri Senate candidate Lucas Coons, who, you know, has an opponent who were not favorable of his name is Josh Hawley. [00:00:15] So it really pains me that this happened. And I think it was a terrible decision to have a campaign event at a, you know, shooting range. Like, I get that you're trying to present yourself as more of a moderate in order to compete with Senator Josh Hawley, but it ended up backfiring. [00:00:32] So Coons, a Democrat, was holding the campaign event at a shooting range with former U.S. Representative Adam Kinzinger, a disillusioned Republican who's a Never Trump person. And so Coons, a marine veteran hoping to unseat U.S. [00:00:47] Senate Senator Josh Hawley, provided first aid to K-s-h-b reporter Ryan Gamboa after a bullet fragment ricocheted off a target and struck him in the arm. [00:01:04] So the the news organization basically reports that Gamboa's injuries were minor, thankfully. And he was released from the hospital on Tuesday. But I'm going to just pause before I get to all the different statements and the fact that Senator Hawley is making fun of this, because I want [00:01:22] to know what you think, John. Maybe I'm being unfair. Look, I am not like a suit. I'm not an anti-gun person. Right? And I don't think there's anything wrong with going to a shooting range. I personally have a problem pandering by going to a shooting range as part of your campaign event. I just think it's dumb, and I don't know if that's going to win [00:01:40] over Republicans who are more poised to vote for Josh Hawley. And besides which, this ended up backfiring pretty badly. What do you think? Literally. Oh, yeah. Good point. Yeah. I don't know, like, I do think that it is pandering. [00:01:55] I don't know that if he he's a former marine, he goes to a shooting range or whatever. That seems consistent with his life. So for him, I think it's light pandering. I think, you know, when, like a Ted Cruz goes to a gun range and decides to make [00:02:12] bacon on an AR 15 in a way that has nothing to do with his life, and he looks like an utter goober trying to do it. That's worse. Pandering. So yes, I agree he is pandering. I don't think that his is the most considering he has a military background. [00:02:28] I don't need my candidates to be going to a shooting range or whatever, but I don't think it's the worst thing I've seen politicians do worse recently. You know, maybe a gun range is better than a fast food restaurant, I don't know. Well, look, I'll say I'll say, well, I mean, yes, that was also pandering. [00:02:45] I totally get that. And also trolling Kamala Harris. And we're talking about the Trump visit to McDonald's where he's pretending to be a worker there. But putting that aside, I think the thing that annoys me about this is, oh, I'm going to engage in like it's expected that a Republican candidate [00:03:03] do the cheesy things that, like Ted Cruz, has done, right. Like you or the holiday family photo were like the two year old is holding a pistol. Like I get it like it's a thing that they do. You expect it. But like, I just don't think Democrats need to pander in the same way. [00:03:20] I think there's better ways to to campaign. But I don't know, maybe I'm being a little too critical here. So what did Coons say after the event? He tried to make light of it or downplay it, saying, great day. Great day. Great, great day. At the range today, with my friend Adam Kinzinger, [00:03:36] we got to hang out with some union workers while exercising our freedom. Always have your first aid kit handy. Shrapnel can always fly when you hit a target like today, and you've got to be ready to go. We had our first aid kits, so we were able to take care of the situation, [00:03:54] and I'm glad Ryan is okay and was able to continue reporting. What say you, John? Was that a good, good statement, a good day? I mean, I think I think there's like three types of days that can happen at a gun range. Nobody gets shot at all, okay? [00:04:11] You get hit with shrapnel or you get shot. So it's at best a two out of three, I think. Yeah. No one got shot. That's good, I suppose, but I think you should be aiming for nobody getting hit with anything that flew out of a gun, I think. [00:04:29] Agreed. I wouldn't making light of it or whatever. I guess that's what he's going to do. It doesn't seem like the injury was serious. Like shrapnel, you know, touched him or whatever, but anyway. Well, downplaying shrapnel, hitting a journalist. Not great. Right. [00:04:45] Making light of that? Not great. What's also not great is the way Josh Hawley made light of it. Because he just decided to clown Koontz, and I don't. Look, I don't know if this is something that appeals to his supporters. It doesn't appeal to me. [00:05:00] Like, someone could have really gotten hurt. I'm glad that it wasn't a serious injury. But he writes, I condemn all acts of violence against reporters and call on Koontz never to shoot another one. And then he has the three laughing emojis he follows that up with I know, I know, the Koontz campaign needed a shot in the [00:05:16] arm, but this is taking it a little far. And then finally he says, when liberals play with guns, people get hurt. Now Lucas Coons, a 13 year. Marine, he served in the goddamn Marines, you jackass. [00:05:33] So he had his own response to Holly clowning him, saying, this is the last time Josh Hawley saw a gun and it's a still frame. Well, he posted a GIF, but what you're seeing is a still frame of Josh Hawley on January 6th as the Capitol rioters were there or breaking in. [00:05:52] And I want to show the video that he was referencing in that tweet. Let's take a look. Just in case you haven't gotten the message yet, I'm unafraid. I am not backing down. I'm not going to cower. I'm not going to run from you. I'm not going to bend the knee. I'm not going to run from you. [00:06:10] I'm not going to run from you. I mean, if they're going to be clowning each other, that was pretty effective. [00:06:26] I will I will allow it, I will allow it. And it seems to have gotten under Josh Hawley's spokesperson's skin, because Abigail Jackson posted a response to it, saying, you just shot someone. Relax. Yeah, but your guy also, like, ran like a baby. [00:06:45] As the rioters were breaking into the Capitol on January 6th and then proceeded to pretend like it was no big deal, when clearly he was terrified for his life. He's running, like, down the halls, afraid for his life. So I just. [00:07:00] Look, I think the thing that bothered me about the whole gun range stunt is I just. Guns aren't a toy. Like, it's not a game. It's not a joke. I'm not anti-gun, as you guys know, but at the same time, I just wish we were [00:07:20] more serious about the fact that it is a lethal weapon and it shouldn't be used as like some sort of prop in a campaign. I get that Republicans do it all the time, and we criticize them when they do. I don't think Democrats should stoop to that level. Like, what are you going to do for your voters? [00:07:35] Like, what are you going to do to appeal to them outside of these stunts? I guess that's what kind of irritates me about it, but I don't know. I see is comparable to doing an event where you play a sport or something like fun. Do that, do that. [00:07:51] But I would say it's it's similar to that and someone could get injured in that too. Like, yeah, I think it's very serious. I'm saying Republicans would imply that there is nothing inherently dangerous or risky or scary at all about going to a gun range. It's the most normal thing in the world, in which case it should be the most [00:08:08] normal thing to do on the campaign trail in the world, according to them. I think, again, it's not for me. Also, by the way, like I think Holly is an actual like a literal, like cringey little cow, like the three Elon Musk crying faces like, oh dear god, dude, like you need to have one of your kids tell you [00:08:25] what's acceptable to tweet or not. But the joke, I guess ultimately is on us because he's going to win. The state is very biased, so he's up by like eight points or something. It's I mean, it's conservative. So they're going to go with the conservative. He will win for having nothing to do with him or his record or anything. [00:08:42] It's just baked into the disparity in the state. Yeah. True. And you know, Koontz thought, well, maybe I can win these voters over by presenting myself as having the esthetics that a conservative would have. But I'm a Democrat and I don't think that usually works. [00:08:59] So yeah, I think Holly's going to win too. But let's stop with the gun range stunts. Let's let's actually talk about policy a little bit more. Just a little bit more. I think that would be better. Hey, thanks for watching the video. We really appreciate it guys, and we appreciate it if you become members [00:09:16] because that allows us to be independent, honest, progressive, all the things that you don't get from corporate media and all of that is because of you guys. Hit the join button below and become one of us. Become a young Turk.