Brennan Battles Tom Emmer for ‘Fire Pelosi’ Ad with a Video of Him Shooting a Gun

EMMER: “Eight out of ten Americans right now think we’re on the wrong track. That’s what they’re going to be voting on in nine days.”
BRENNAN: “I know. And I would love to talk about something other than people being worried for their lives. But, unfortunately, that’s where we are. I want to ask you about this when it comes to political violence. On your Twitter feed, you posted this video we’re going to show just a few days ago where you’re firing a gun, and it says, ‘Enjoyed exercising my Second Amendment rights. #FirePelosi.’ Why is there a gun in a political ad at all?”
EMMER: “It wasn’t an ad. I was — I was tweeting out — I was tweeting out something that I had just done.”
BRENNAN: “Hashtag — or a tweet — hashtag #FirePelosi, with a weapon.”
EMMER: “Well, now you’re — “
BRENNAN: “Wouldn’t a Pink slip be more fitting, if it’s about firing her?”
EMMER: It’s interesting, Margaret — “
BRENNAN: “Why a gun?”
EMMER: “It’s interesting, Margaret, that we’re talking about this, this morning, when a couple of years back, when a Bernie Sanders supporter shot Steve Scalise — “
BRENNAN: “Which was horrendous and horrific — “
EMMER: “ — when a Bernie Sanders supporter shot Steve Scalise — “
BRENNAN: “ — which is why we should not be putting weapons — “
EMMER: “ — I never heard you or anyone else in the media trying to blame Democrats for what happened. We need to stay focused on what we’re all doing — “
BRENNAN: “We did extensive coverage of what happened to Steve Scalise.”
EMMER: “Excuse me?”
BRENNAN: “There was extensive news coverage, sir.”
EMMER: “But nobody tried to equate Democrats’ rhetoric, people that say — “
BRENNAN: “I’m not talking about your rhetoric. I’m talking about what you posted.”
EMMER: “It’s the same.”
BRENNAN: “You’re shooting a gun. Our viewers just saw it.”
EMMER: “Yeah, right.”
BRENNAN: “Hashtag #FirePelosi.”
EMMER: “Exercising our Second Amendment rights, having fun shooting a gun.”
BRENNAN: “That’s not a debate about the Second Amendment.”
EMMER: “Yeah.”
BRENNAN: “That’s not a debate about the Second Amendment.”
EMMER: “Yes, it is.”
BRENNAN: “Hashtag #FirePelosi.”
EMMER: Yes, it is. I — I’m running the campaign operation.”
BRENNAN: “Do you not understand that that is suggestive to people who are in a bad state, and, in this current environment, how risky it is? As you’re talking about the importance of lowering the rhetoric — “
EMMER: “I disagree with you.”
BRENNAN: “ — why do you leave that up?”
EMMER: “Again, I never saw anyone after Steve Scalise was shot by a Bernie Sanders supporter — “
BRENNAN: “I’m talking about right now, what just is happening now.”
EMMER: “ — trying to equate — equate Democrat rhetoric with those actions. Please don’t do that.”
BRENNAN: “Okay. Looking at your candidates, Republican candidates have spent more than $116 million on ads that mentioned Speaker Pelosi by name in this cycle. If this is about the issues, why not just make it about the issues? Why not depersonalize it?”
EMMER: “It is absolutely about the issues. It’s about the fact that we have double-digit inflation, exploding — exploding cost of living. We’ve got a crime wave across this country that is a direct result — that is the direct result — “
BRENNAN: “In this moment, we are eight days out, don’t you think this needs to change? Why not pull some of these ads? Why not just delete your tweet?”
EMMER: “Well, I’m sure — I’m sure people would like to talk about anything but what the Democrats have done to this country, which, quite frankly, is exploding cost of living, a crime wave in our major cities that is the result of this defund the police nonsense and cashless bail. I mean, you look at New York City, where you put someone in jail at 9:00 P.M. for assaulting someone on the street and they’re back out on the street at 9:00 A.M. committing crimes again. You look at my state of Minnesota, Minneapolis, it’s had 6,000 assaults since the beginning of the year, Margaret. Those are the issues that are top of mind for every voter in this country. That’s why they’re going to show up on November 8, and that’s why Republicans are going to win in the midterms.”
BRENNAN: “That’s what our projections are showing, but I would suggest more Pink slips, fewer weapons in our ads in this environment, sir. Thank you for joining us. ‘Face the Nation’ will be right back. Stay with us.”