The debut of comedic prankster Sasha Baron Cohen's show "Who Is America?" snookered several gun rights conservatives into making on-camera endorsements of what they believed to be a real Israeli program, which trains children as young as pre-school age to use firearms and defend classmates in school shootings, called "KinderGuardians."
Cohen, pretending to be an Israeli terrorism expert, first tricks a gun rights advocate named Philip van Cleave to star in a promotional video for KinderGuardians, in which van Cleave instructs children to "point Puppy Pistol's mouth right at the middle of the bad man." Then he sells the head of Gun Owners for America, Larry Pratt, on the program, who appears to help him set up meetings with congresspeople.
The clip seems destined to end up in an ad for Rohrabacher's challenger, Harley Rouda. The Democrat quickly shared the footage on his Twitter feed with the comment: "His willingness to promote a non-existent 'children’s gun program; proves his commitment to the NRA over our Nation’s safety."
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher Suggests Support for "KinderGuardians"
Two of the pranks victims were sitting members of Congress, and one, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, faces a tough re-election battle in California's 48th congressional district.Cohen, pretending to be an Israeli terrorism expert, first tricks a gun rights advocate named Philip van Cleave to star in a promotional video for KinderGuardians, in which van Cleave instructs children to "point Puppy Pistol's mouth right at the middle of the bad man." Then he sells the head of Gun Owners for America, Larry Pratt, on the program, who appears to help him set up meetings with congresspeople.
Harley Rouda Pounces on Rohrabacher's Goof
One congressman, Rep. Matt Gaetz, has the wherewithal to refrain from endorsing KinderGuardians on-camera without doing his own research first. But Rohrabacher appears to do so, saying, "maybe having many young people trained and understand how to defend themselves and their school might actually make us safer here." (Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina goes farther: "A three year old cannot defend itself from an assault rifle by throwing a Hello Kitty pencil case at it. Our founding fathers did not put an age limit on the Second Amendment.")The clip seems destined to end up in an ad for Rohrabacher's challenger, Harley Rouda. The Democrat quickly shared the footage on his Twitter feed with the comment: "His willingness to promote a non-existent 'children’s gun program; proves his commitment to the NRA over our Nation’s safety."
His willingness to promote a non-existent “children’s gun program” proves his commitment to the NRA over our Nation’s safety.
— Harley Rouda (@HarleyRouda) July 15, 2018
His gullibility, lack of due diligence, and weakness is exactly why Vladimir Putin adopted him decades ago.@DanaRohrabacher #FireDana #DebateMeDana https://t.co/STGvGZoP7T