In January musician and activist Ted Nugent caused controversy when he ranted that Barack Obama was a “communist-educated” and nurtured “subhuman mongrel.” For weeks he has been under pressure from both left and right to apologize for the comment, and this week he has offered that apology.
During an interview with Guns.com in January, Nugent slammed the president in his typically bellicose manner. However, while he indulged in his normal pointed jibes of calling President Obama a socialist, a communist, and a gangster, he also unleashed the “mongrel” jibe.
While at the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show (SHOT) held in Las Vegas, Nugent slammed the President, saying, “I have obviously failed to galvanize and prod, if not shame enough Americans to be ever vigilant not to let a Chicago communist-raised, communist-educated, communist-nurtured, subhuman mongrel like the ACORN community organizer gangster Barack Hussein Obama to weasel his way into the top office of authority in the United States of America.”
As the days wore on from January 17, more and more voices both left and right came out condemning Nugent’s off-color comment, including Senator Rand Paul and Texas Governor Rick Perry.
By February 21, Nugent did make an apology for using the phrase. While talking with radio host Ben Ferguson, Nugent offered an apology, though “not necessarily” to Obama.
“I do apologize – not necessarily to the President – but on behalf of much better men than myself, like the best governor in America, Gov. Rick Perry, [and] the best attorney general in America, Greg Abbott [of Texas],” Nugent said.
“I apologize for using the street fighter terminology, like ‘subhuman mongrel,’ instead of just using more understandable language such as ‘violator of his oath to the Constitution,'” Nugent continued. “I apologize for using the term. I will try to elevate my vernacular to the level of those great men that I’m learning from in the world of politics.”