Over the weekend, the 2016 campaign trail was abuzz with presidential candidates pitching plans and engaging with voters and Sunday and Saturday had no shortage of news-making comments from 2016ers.
And while they addressed a range of topics, in a range of formats, they had something in common: They were on defense.
Here are some highlights:
Perry defends his opposition to gun control
Republican presidential candidate and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who is a staunch opponent to gun control, said that Americans should be able to take their guns to movie theaters in an interview with CNN’s State of the Union. His comments come in light of the shooting in Lafayette, Louisiana, which left two women dead, earlier this week.
The Lafayette movie theater shooting is an example of why gun-free zones are “a bad idea,” Perry said.
“I think that it makes a lot of sense to send a message across this country,” Perry told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “If we believe in the Second Amendment, and we believe in people’s right to protect themselves and defend themselves, and their families.”
Perry said that new gun laws are not needed because shooting like the one in Lafayette and the Charleston shooting, in which Dylann Roof killed nine African-Americans in a church, happen because existing gun laws are not enforced properly.
“I think we have the laws in place. Enforcement of those laws is what seems to be lacking, both in Charleston and here in Lafayette, Louisiana,” Perry said, adding that “somewhere, somebody didn’t do their job in the standpoint of enforcing the laws.”
Cruz defends his remarks that McConnell lied
In a rare Sunday Senate session, in which the chamber voted to end debate on a proposal to reauthorize the Export-Import bank, Republicans slammed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who accused Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of lying about whether there was a deal to allow a vote concerning the bank.
“Squabbling and sanctimony may be tolerated in other venues — or perhaps on the campaign trail — but they have no place among colleagues in the United States Senate,” Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch said in a speech slamming Cruz on the Senate floor.
However, despite heated criticism, Cruz in typical fashion did not back down.
“I do not believe speaking the truth is anything other than in the very best tradition of the United States Senate,” Cruz told reporters Sunday after the vote when he was asked if he regretted calling McConnell a liar.
“Those were extraordinary steps designed to force a vote to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank and they were directly contrary to the promises the Majority Leader made to 53 Republicans and to the press,” Cruz added.
Clinton defends use of her personal email server (again)
After The New York Times reported Thursday that inspectors general for the intelligence community and the State Department had asked the Justice Department to launch a criminal investigation into former Secretary of State Clinton’s alleged mishandling of classified email, the Democratic frontrunner told reporters in Winterset, Iowa on Saturday “I am confident that I never sent or received any information that was classified at the time it was sent and received.”
The New York Times significantly revised its story on Friday to say that the Justice is to determine whether sensitive government information was mishandled in connection with Clinton’s account and not Clinton, herself.
“What I think you’re seeing here is a very typical kind of discussion, to some extent disagreement among various parts of the government, over what should or should not be publicly released,” Clinton said, adding that she understands “why reporters and the public are asking questions, but the facts are pretty clear. I did not send nor receive anything that was classified at the time.”
Christie defends gun record in heated exchange with heckler
In a town hall in Ankeny, Iowa, New Jersey Gov. and Repeblican presidential candidate defended his record on gun rights as he shouted down a heckler Saturday, who accused him of being “anti-gun.”
“Come up with one fact that shows one thing I’ve done as governor in New Jersey that’s done anything, anything not to support the rights of legal gun owners,” Christie said to the man who identified himself as part of the Iowa Gun Owners organization. “Don’t come in front of this group of people and lie about my record, which is what you did.”
The heckler berated Christie for proposing to ban .50-caliber rifles and for requiring a government-issued identification for the purchase of firearms.
“I don’t know where you’re getting your information from, but your information is wrong,” stating that he vetoed the .50-caliber ban and the system that would require state-issued ID’s of all gun purchasers.
And after telling the heckler that he has not made a decision on whether to pardon a North Carolina man facing prison time in New Jersey after telling a police office that he had a gun in his car, Christie said “I see you shrugging your shoulders, why are you shrugging your shoulders about? You have your point of view, but have some facts about it.”
Sanders defends reaction to ‘Black Lives Matter’ protest
Vermont senator and Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders defended his reaction to a group of “Black Lives Matter” demonstrators, who interrupted a town hall for liberal activists, two weeks ago at the Netroots Nation conference in Phoenix.
Sanders was visibly frustrated, arguing on stage with the group and disappeared off stage for a while, before reappearing again, touting his record of fighting for civil rights.
In an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Sanders said Sunday he sees racial injustice as a major problem and said that he’s “not dismissive” of “Black Lives Matter.”
“I’ve been involved in the civil rights movement all of my life, and I believe that we have to deal with this issue of institutional racism,” Sanders said.
Huckabee defends ‘oven’ remark in series of tweets
Republican presidential candidate and former Gov. of Arkansas Mike Huckabee used social media Sunday to stand by his comments that Obama is marching Israelis to “the door of the oven” by agreeing to the Iran nuclear deal.
Huckabee tweeted “Tell Congress to do their constitutional duty & reject the Obama-Kerry #IranDeal” as well as quotes from the Ayatollah Khamenei making threats against Israel.
