Ted Nugent’s been making headlines again lately while dragging Kathy Griffin for her (ridiculous) mock-beheading-of-Trump stunt. He held her out as an example of hate coming from the left, yet — at the same time — he protested how people kept resurfacing the “myth” of an infamous 2007 rant, in which he basically threatened to kill Barack Obama (“suck on my machine gun”) and Hillary Clinton (“ride one of these into the sunset, you worthless b*tch”). Yet Nugent claims to have turned over a new leaf following the Congressional baseball field attack that left GOP House Whip Steve Scalise and others with gunshot wounds.
In an interview with ABC Radio in New York City, Nugent said he’s not going to blame any one political side for this tragedy. He does admits that his wife persuaded him to stop using all of the “harsh terms,” but since the Nooge has grown enlightened, he’s pleading for the same from everyone else:
“I encourage even my friends/enemies on the left in the Democrat and liberal world that we have got to be civil to each other, that the whole world is watching America, where you have the God-given right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and we have got to be more respectful to the other side.”
Does Nugent plan to practice what he’s preaching? He vows to forever distance himself from that “hateful rhetoric” favored by the unwashed masses:
“I’m going to take a deep breath, and I’m going to back it down, and if it gets fiery, if it gets hateful, I’m going away. I’m not going to engage in that kind of hateful rhetoric anymore … I will avoid anything that can be interpreted as condoning or referencing violence.”
Of course, when someone does an about face such as this one, past statements can come back, big time. Yet maybe Nugent actually means what he says, until the next time he gets angry and begins to crazily rant onstage, possibly groping himself. You never know with this guy.
You can listen to the full Nugent interview with ABC Radio NYC below.
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(Via audioBoom & Rolling Stone)