After stumping for Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention, the actor Scott Baio defended some of his controversial messaging on social media, where his tweets about Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama have been less than kind. In a heated discussion with MSNBC’s Tamron Hall, Baio said he didn’t have to be “sweet and gentle” or “square and nice to everybody.” (Square is actually what Americans are looking for, but nice and sweet are surely a choice.)
Baio justifies much of his rhetorical tone on a “gun fight” comment Barack Obama made in 2008, when he was running for president. Obama said then of his political opposition: “They’re going to try to scare people. They’re going to try to say that ‘that Obama is a scary guy.’ If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun, because from what I understand folks in Philly like a good brawl. I’ve seen Eagles fans.” Baio referenced this quote a number of times, implying that with it Obama had signaled a no-holds-barred approach to politics, condoning violent rhetoric and saying anything goes to win.
