Sep 11, 2015:
Rick Perry announced he is suspending his campaign for the 2016 U.S. presidency.
Perry drops out of GOP race | The Hill
Jun 19, 2015:
Rick Perry was a guest on the Steve Malzberg Show. After showing a video clip of President Obama speaking about gun control in regard to the recent Charleston Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church shooting, host Steve Malzberg asks Perry:
Exploitation of a tragedy?
Perry's response:
Well, that's always the knee-jerk reaction. If we can just take the guns out of the hands of everyone in this country these types of things won't happen again.
Then Malzberg asks Perry:
Did he [Obama] go too quickly to the microphone and blame guns, and is this just an attempt to exploit a situation?
Perry's response:
This is the MO of this administration. Anytime there is an accident like this...the President is clear he doesn't like for Americans to have guns. And, so he uses every opportunity, this being another one, to basically go parrot that message
Watch a video of Obama's statement and/or read a transcript here.
Watch Rick Perry on the Steve Malzberg show here.
Commentary:
President Obama does not want to take guns out of the hands of "everyone", nor is it true that Obama "doesn't like for Americans to have guns". Perry's remarks do not accurately reflect the position of the Obama Administration on gun control which you can read here.
When Perry says that Obama "uses every opportunity, this being another one, to basically go parrot that message", Perry is completely missing the point of Obama's statement. The President is sincerely concerned about shootings like Charleston and about doing everything we can as Americans to minimize the chance of these things happening again. Obama is simply driving home a point at a time when he has the attention of the American people - not for political reasons, but for the safety of the American people.
It's clear to me that Perry is the one politicizing and exploiting the situation, not Obama, by saying things that are just not true in an attempt to make Obama and his administration look "bad".
Rick Perry calls Charleston shooting an 'accident' | The Hill
Jun 4, 2015:
Former Texas Governor Rick Perry announced his candidacy for the 2016 U.S. presidency.