*GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry called this week’s Charleston Church shooting an “accident” in a recent interview — a description his spokesman later characterized as a slip of the tongue.
Perry was trying to slam President Obama’s gun control message in the wake of the South Carolina tragedy, a “knee-jerk reaction,” when prompted by a Newsmax reporter.
“This is the M.O. of this administration, anytime there is an accident like this,” Perry told Steve Malzberg. “You know, the president’s clear. He doesn’t like for Americans to have guns, and so he uses every opportunity — this being another one — to basically go parrot that message.” Watch here.
Shortly after Perry’s remark became a headline of its own, as well as a trending topic on social media, the politician’s press secretary Travis Considine claimed the former governor misspoke. “From the context of his comments, it is clear Gov. Perry meant incident,” Considine said in a statement.
He also suggested that confessed shooter, 21-year-old Dylann Roof, may have been “medicated.” One of Perry’s platforms is the issue of opioids he alleges are being handed out too easily to ex-military members.
“I know for a fact, being a substantial supporter of our military and our veterans, that the Veterans Administration, for instance, is handing out these opioids in massive amounts,” Perry said. “And then people question, ‘Well then why can’t these young individuals get work?’ or ‘Why is the suicide rate so high?’”
This isn’t the only time Perry has made a public political gaffe while running for the nation’s highest office. During the 2012 debate, Perry was unable to remember the third federal agency that he planned to eliminate if elected president.
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