In the latest addition to the pantheon of tough-guy gun-toting GOP grandstanding videos, Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) spoke up in defense of gun rights on Monday in a clip of him wielding two assault rifles—one of which was aimed at his own right foot.
“I have a message for the Biden administration,” Jackson, the former physician to President Donald Trump, said in his video shared on Twitter, which racked up over a million views in under 24 hours.
“If you’re thinking about taking our ARs, you can start here in Texas. On behalf of all the law-abiding gun owners in the state of Texas, I just want to say: come and get it.”
Captioning the video, Jackson added: “I will NEVER give up my firearms. I will NEVER surrender my AR-15. If Democrats want to push an insane gun-grab, they can COME AND TAKE IT!”
His impassioned defense of assault rifles came on the same day that a damning report was published explaining what an assault rifle did to 19 children and two teachers in a school in his state in May. It was also the same day a rifle-wielding gunman shot three people dead in a food court in an Indiana mall.
Jackson’s video came ahead of a House vote this week on the first assault weapon ban in nearly three decades. If passed into law, the bill would limit the import and sale of semi-automatic weapons with certain “military features,” but it would not call for the confiscation of guns that enthusiasts already own.
Ex-Trump Doc Suggests on Fox That Biden’s on Drugs Social media users reacted to Jackson’s show of force with both dismay and amusement, with some pointing out the dangerous way he was holding his rifles, at least one of which appeared to be loaded. This isn’t the first time the former Navy admiral has come in for ridicule.
Jackson joined the White House Medical Unit as a physician in 2006 and served under three presidents, but it was Trump who made him an ally and gave credence to Jackson’s political aspirations.
In 2018, Jackson curried favor with the then-president by using a press briefing to say Trump was in “excellent health,” praise his “incredibly good genes” and make the ridiculous assertion that “if he had a healthier diet over the last 20 years, he might live to be 200 years old.”Jackson’s rifle-loving clip comes after ex-Missouri Gov. —Agencies
