While representing the Outdoor Channel at a gun show, National Rifle Association board member Ted Nugent cited President Obama's expression of sympathy to deceased Florida teenager Trayvon Martin's parents as evidence the president is “an avowed racist.”

During an interview with PennLive.com, Nugent said “the best Americans are so heartbroken right now” in part because we have “a president who's an avowed racist who claimed because Trayvon Martin was black, even though he was a gangster and an attacker and a doper, that he could have been his son.”

In March 2012 -- less than a month after an unarmed Martin was shot by neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman -- Obama expressed sympathy towards Martin's parents by stating, "[M]y main message is to the parents of Trayvon Martin. If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon. And I think they are right to expect that all of us as Americans are going to take this with the seriousness it deserves, and that we're going to get to the bottom of exactly what happened."

Nugent made the remark on February 5 while attending the NRA's Great American Outdoor Show in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania as a representative of the Outdoor Channel:

In January, Outdoor Channel announced a multi-year deal with Nugent, which includes “making talent appearances on the network's behalf at top consumer and industry trade events.” At the time, Outdoor Channel's CEO said, “Ted Nugent symbolizes everything that is right in our industry.” Nugent recently represented Outdoor Channel at the gun industry's annual trade show, where he compared Jewish film executive Harvey Weinstein to a Nazi because of Weinstein's opposition to the NRA. Nugent also created controversy and faced accusations of racism for an interview conducted at the trade show where he called President Obama a mongrel -- a term for a dog of indeterminate breed.

Nugent also attacked former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the Great American Outdoor Show, stating that he would rather Sens. Rand Paul or Ted Cruz become president than Clinton, who he called an “evil, nasty, irresponsible, criminal woman.” Nugent has a lengthy history of attacking Clinton, having called her a “worthless bitch” and a “toxic cunt.”