An ex-congressman and popular shock jock on Tuesday brushed off criticism of a controversial tweet in which he asks dissenters if they would join him in grabbing “his musket” if Donald Trump loses on Election Day, insisting he wasn’t encouraging violence.
MSNBC’s Craig Melvin asked former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) what he meant by the tweet, which read “On November 8th, I’m voting for Trump. On November 9th, if Trump loses, I’m grabbing my musket. You in?”
Walsh said that it was a “metaphor” and a “call to arms.”
“First off, it’s a musket. Craig, it’s a metaphor. It’s a call to arms,” Walsh said. “Two weeks before, I tweeted the same thing. No matter who wins, I’m grabbing my musket. Whether Trump wins or not, there’s millions of Americans that are pissed off at both political parties.”
When Melvin pointed out that many could take his tweet as a threat of violence against Hillary Clinton and her supporters, Walsh seemed to take issue with the characterization of a musket as a weapon.
“Craig, I said musket. If I had said gun, that’s one thing,” Walsh argued.
“A musket is a gun,” Melvin replied.
“Okay, fine. Then take me literally. Why the hell would I advocate anybody to grab a musket? Nobody can find a musket anywhere,” Walsh said. “I challenge you to find a working musket. If you want to take me literally, that’s idiotic. Nobody would charge Washington with a musket in the year 2016. It’s a call to arms.”
Walsh added that his “call to arms” wasn’t about pitting Republicans against Democrats, but about elites versus everyday Americans.
“This is not Republican versus Democrat, Craig. It’s us against the elites,” Walsh said.
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