Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley mocked his Democratic opponent Lucas Kunce after a reporter was injured by shrapnel during a campaign event at a local gun range—and Kunce hit him with a blunt reminder.
A reporter from KSHB-TV was struck in the arm by a piece of stray metal while Marine veteran Kunce fired an AR-15-style rifle at targets during an event at a home in the exurbs of Kansas City.
Kunce immediately administered first aid to the reporter, who continued covering the event despite the incident. The Kansas City TV station later confirmed that the journalist received treatment for a minor injury at a nearby hospital.
Hawley mocked Kunce in a post on X, formerly Twitter, following the accident, writing:
"When liberals play with guns, people get hurt."
You can see his post below.
Hawley later mocked Kunce directly, saying he "condemns" all violence and called on Kunce to "never to shoot another one."
He later wrote the following tasteless joke:
"I know the Kunce campaign needed a shot in the arm, but this is taking it a little far …"
These tweets quickly caught Kunce's attention and he responded with a brutal reminder of how Hawley reacted during the Capitol riot, writing
"The last time Josh Hawley saw a gun" and including surveillance footage of Hawley running in the U.S. Capitol that day.
The footage, one of the most striking revelations during hearings on the insurrection, which took place when a mob of former President Donald Trump's supporters attacked the nation's seat of government on the false premise the 2020 general election had been stolen, is all the more striking because of Hawley's actions ahead of the event.
Hawley was the first Senator to object to the certification of President Joe Biden's electoral win and a now-infamous photograph taken outside the Capitol shows him indicating his support for rioters with a fist-pump.
Many joined Kunce in mocking Hawley.
Hawley's actions during the insurrection are all the more ridiculous because he actually wrote a book titled Manhood: The Masculine Virtues Americans Need, that expands on concerns Hawley has expressed about the decline of traditional male gender roles and expectations in the United States.
The notion that masculinity is being attacked–namely by the left wing–is a popular one among Republicans like Hawley, who last year accused "the Left" of hurting "the future of the American man" and went on to claim the "deconstruction of America begins with and depends on the deconstruction of American men."
Let's just say the footage from that fateful day betrayed his cowardice.
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@Indian_Bronson/X