‘SHORT WAR:’ Rep. Eric Swalwell Hints At Nuking Citizens During Civil War

File this under “poor gun control messaging.”

In a Friday Tweet, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) set the internet on fire by insinuating that the federal government would use nuclear weapons against citizens who rebelled against it.

In May, NBC reported that Swalwell proposed a gun buyback that would force Americans to sell semiautomatic rifles to the government or face prosecution. Newsmax host John Cardillo shared the article on Friday, prompting combat veteran and right wing commentator Joe Biggs to claim that a civil war would break out if the federal government actually tried to confiscate weapons.

“So basically @RepSwalwell wants a war. Because that’s what you would get. You’re outta your f****** mind if you think I’ll give up my rights and give the gov all the power,” Biggs said.

That prompted an accidentally honest response from Swalwell.

“And it would be a short war my friend. The government has nukes. Too many of them. But they’re legit. I’m sure if we talked we could find common ground to protect our families and communities,” Swalwell said.

Yikes.

Ironically, Swalwell made the perfect argument for never giving up your Second Amendment rights to the federal government. In effect, he said “You can trust the government not to hurt you if you hand over your weapons, but if you don’t hand over your weapons, the government will use physical force against you” – which is exactly what we’re worried about.

The internet has throughly ruined Swalwell.

“So our government would nuke its own country in order to take guns? Wow,” Biggs said in reply.

https://twitter.com/Rambobiggs/status/1063529017423347712

“’You don’t need AR-15s because the government isn’t tyrannical, and, anyway, if you try to stop us taking them we will nuke you’ is my favorite of all the gun control talking points,” said National Review editors Charles W. Cooke.

Swalwell is now caught between the proverbial rock and hard place. He can’t delete the Tweet. Thousands, including this author, have likely taken a screenshot of it. He’s going to have to dig himself out of this hole somehow. It should be a wild ride.

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