Eric Greitens battered for defending 'RINO Hunting' campaign ad as a 'metaphor' for 'normal people'
Former Missouri Governor and Republican United States Senate candidate Eric Greitens is defending a campaign ad that he released on Monday in which he encouraged voters to apply for a "RINO Hunting Permit."
The controversial spot has been widely condemned as promoting political violence, leading War Room podcast host Steve Bannon to question Greitens on Tuesday about whether he regretted producing it.
"There's one thing about being provocative, there's another thing about crossing a line. Do you believe in hindsight now that it's out and you've seen all the controversy but you've also seen the traffic I'm sure it's driven to your campaign site, when you balance provocative versus maybe 'I crossed a line here,' where does Eric Greitens come out?" Bannon asked Greitens on Real America's Voice.
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The disgraced and embattled Greitens stood his ground.
“Oh we’re 100 percent proud of this ad, Steve. We're glad that it's had over five million views," he replied. "And the fact is, all normal people who actually see this ad - they also see that it is a metaphor.”
Watch below via Ron Filipkowski:
\u201cSteve Bannon asks Eric Greitens if, in hindsight, he thinks his \u2018RINO Hunter\u2019 ad might have gone too far: \u201cWe\u2019re 100% proud of this ad .. The fact is, all normal people who actually see this ad - they also see that it is a metaphor.\u201d\u201d— Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1655847020
Observers followed up with a query of their own: what metaphor was Greitens making?
\u201c@RonFilipkowski This guy tied up his mistress and blackmailed her with naked pictures he took of her against her will. What's the metaphor for that?\u201d— Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1655847020
\u201c@RonFilipkowski @EricGreitens THIS is a metaphor. But a bad one. Because a gun is not a penis. In case you didn't know that before, you're welcome.\u201d— Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1655847020
\u201c@RonFilipkowski I don't think Greitens knows what the word "metaphor" means.\u201d— Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1655847020
\u201c@RonFilipkowski @docjnsuss\u201d— Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1655847020
\u201c@RonFilipkowski Seal or no Seal....sure would like to share with him what he can do with his metaphor !\u201d— Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1655847020
\u201c@RonFilipkowski \u201cIt\u2019s not literal\u201d is the walk-back from the dangerous ad from the US Senate candidate in Missouri. A metaphor transfers meaning. So in that strained context, ad transfers hunting/violence/etc to politics as acceptable in that realm, even if not in same way as with animals.\u201d— Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1655847020
Others noted that Greitens' subliminal call to arms was not what most people consider normal.
\u201c@RonFilipkowski It's not the "normal" people we're worried about. Duh.\u201d— Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1655847020
\u201c@RonFilipkowski Normal people is not the target audience.\u201d— Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1655847020
\u201c@RonFilipkowski Sick and tired of their efforts to \u201cnormalize\u201d the inexcusable.\u201d— Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1655847020
\u201c@RonFilipkowski All normal people see that it is an incitement to violence\u201d— Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1655847020
\u201c@RonFilipkowski No one in Greitens\u2019 actual (pardon) target audience gets metaphor. Also, isn\u2019t metaphor an East Coast elite kind of thing?\u201d— Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1655847020
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