Hosts of “The Fox News Specialists” let Ted Nugent call in and defend his violent rhetoric

Nugent: Inviting Obama to “suck on my machine gun” was “just an outrageous metaphor.” In a June 2 segment, the hosts of Fox News’ The Fox News Specialists allowed NRA board member Ted Nugent to defend his past statement that he “would be dead or in jail” if former President Obama was re-elected in 2012. After claiming he was “express[ing] fear of my government,” Nugent declared “We’re talking apples and grenades here. I did nothing to harm anyone, [Kathy Griffin] came out with symbolism that was truly vile”:

ERIC BOLLING (CO-HOST): Kathy Griffin was given a second chance today and she blew herself up. In fact, Kathy Griffin just gave the middle finger to anyone who is willing to give her that second chance. Instead -- hold on -- we have Ted Nugent, who is calling in to this show right now. Ted was one of the guests on the show earlier, but he was also mentioned by Kathy Griffin today. Motor City madman, Ted Nugent, are you on the line?



TED NUGENT: Eric, I am. God bless The Specialists, thank you Eric and Eboni and Kat for still revering the truth and common sense.



BOLLING: Alright, talk to us a little bit about Kathy Griffin, Ted, and specifically her reference to you, saying that you at one time had done something similar, to President Obama.



TED NUGENT: Well, it's absolutely false. I mean, I respect the greatest law enforcement investigators of the world, the Secret Service, when they were forced to come investigate me when I expressed fear of my government. My quote was that I was afraid if Obama was elected again, I would either be dead or in jail because of all the farmers and ranchers and citizens across this country who unload on me on a regular basis, where they’re being persecuted by various bureaucrats, and I'm sure you’re well aware of that, the EPA, and the Endangered Species Act, and the USDA. But that's a different subject. I expressed fear of my government.



EBONI WILLIAMS (CO-HOST): But --



NUGENT: But Pelosi and Boxer and Feinstein sent the Secret Service to investigate me, and they concluded absolutely conclusively I did not threaten anybody's life, yet Kathy Griffin and the whole left talking points -- including our own friend Juan Williams, just repeats the lie that I threatened the president's life. Never happened



WILLIAMS: Well, Ted, what did you mean when you said that “Obama, he's a piece of [bleep]. I took him to suck on my machine gun. Hey Hillary, you might want to ride one of these into the sunset, you worthless [bleep]?” I mean, what did you mean by that, if it wasn’t a threat?



TED NUGENT: Well, I'm glad you asked that, because what Kathy Griffin is hysterical over -- and I gotta tell you, I know why, because she's out of her mind -- President Trump and his family were reacting to her vile actions. She --



WILLIAMS: Right Ted, I was asking what you meant when you said -- yeah, okay --



NUGENT: She started it. My statements were in response to an outrageous attempt to ban certain types of firearms that would do nothing except help bad guys with more gun-free zones. I was on stage at a rock-and-roll concert when Obama was a senator, not the president, and I made an outrageous metaphor telling him that we will not accept his gun control laws, but I never threatened anyone.



BOLLING: So -- go ahead, Kat.



KAT TIMPF (CO-HOST): I can see, perhaps, people being upset about that. Again, I have defended both of these as being free speech. Free speech, they’re not threats, that comments not a threat, what Kathy did, was also not a threat, although disgusting.



WILLIAMS: Right, and so I agree, I don't think it was necessarily a threat, and as Ted said he was cleared of it ultimately by law enforcement. But I think if we're talking about making vile and reprehensible comments to people that sit in the White House or even the U.S. Senate, I still think that people that have a problem with one would have a problem with the other.



NUGENT: I'm with you on the free speech, and it’s good to see that everyone is condemning Kathy Griffin's action, because it is nasty. This is a world of terrorism where beheading is a reality, and she euphemized that, she actually referenced that to the president of the United States. We're talking apples and grenades here. I did nothing to harm any one, she came out with symbolism that was truly vile.



WILLIAMS: So, if it's just the words, its okay? I just want to be clear, if it’s just the words, it’s okay, Ted?



BOLLING: Alright, Ted, I'm going to give you the last word on this, but just wrap this up. You have a message to Kathy Griffin?



NUGENT: Well, you know, yeah, good luck. I mean, get your ducks in a row and have fun and be irreverent. Sam Kinison and Richard Pryor and Lenny Bruce are my heroes, but this kind of conduct is absolutely reprehensible and unacceptable, particularly in this world where decapitations are a reality in the war on terror, and to do it in reference to the president is absolutely unacceptable, and it does not fall under the control of free speech.



BOLLING: Okay,. Alright,Ted, we're going to leave you, and by the way Ted Nugent called in on the surprise, on the fly during the show. A surprise to all of us. Ted, Ted Nugent, thank you very much.

Nugent told Obama to “suck on my machine gun,” stood by call for Hillary Clinton to be hanged two days prior to his Fox News call-in

Nugent defended his claim “Hillary Clinton be charged, arrested, tried and hung,” stating “I stand by that.” During the May 31 edition of WBAP’s The Ben Ferguson Show, Nugent declared “I’ve never suggested anybody get hung except for one time after Benghazi, I recommended that Hillary Clinton be charged, arrested, tried, and hung. What she did as secretary of state was certainly treasonous and I stand by that”:

BEN FERGUSON (HOST): Some of the tweets coming in about you. Eric Geller who is of all things, I think it’s interesting, a cyber-security reporter for Politico. He just tweeted out earlier, “You will not be surprised to learn that Spicer ducked a reporter’s question about Ted Nugent by claiming not to know what he said.” You move on down the list of other people that they were quoting today. They had Jeffrey Wright who said, “You old enough to remember your silence at Ted Nugent calling for Obama to be hanged? No? So pipe down now, too. Grown-ups got this.” Joy Reid says, “Remember that time you sought and accepted the endorsement of a violently racist pederast Ted Nugent for your [presidential] bid? Good times.” And I’m assuming she’s referring to Donald Trump and his tweet that he made about this earlier. Let me get your reaction to that?



TED NUGENT: Yeah once again, the dishonesty of the left and their brainwashed puppets is absolutely stunning. I’ve never threatened to hang anybody, I’ve never suggested anybody get hung except for one time after Benghazi, I recommended that Hillary Clinton be charged, arrested, tried, and hung. What she did as secretary of state was certainly treasonous and I stand by that. [WBAP, The Ben Ferguson Show, 5/31/17, via Media Matters]

Nugent has called for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to be “tried for treason and hung” over “Banghazi [sic]”. In a January 20, 2016 post on his Facebook page, Ted Nugent said Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton “should be tried for treason & hung” because “our unholy rotten soulless criminal America destroying government killed 4 Americans in Banghazi [sic].” Nugent additionally claimed “our entire fkdup gvt must be cleansed asap”:

[Media Matters, 1/20/16]



Nugent doubled down on claim he would be “dead or in jail” if Obama was re-elected, claimed call to “help me shoot somebody” was “a metaphor.” During an April 8, 2013 interview on NRA News, Ted Nugent doubled down on his prior claim that he would be “dead or in jail” if President Obama was re-elected. [NRA News, 4/8/13, via Media Matters]



Nugent claimed “piece of shit” Obama should “suck on my machine gun,” Hillary Clinton “might want to ride one of these into the sunset, you worthless bitch.” During a 2007 concert, Ted Nugent described Barack Obama as a “piece of shit,” stating “i told him to suck on my machine gun.” Nugent additionally referenced Hillary Clinton, saying “Hey, Hillary, you might want to ride one of these into the sunset, you worthless bitch.” [Media Matters, 2/21/14]