Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Mike Huckabee’s inane gun comments inadvertently make the case for a nuclear-armed Iran

Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee speaks during the republican presidential debates at the Reagan Library on September 16, 2015, in Simi Valley, California.
Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee speaks during the republican presidential debates at the Reagan Library on September 16, 2015, in Simi Valley, California.
Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee speaks during the republican presidential debates at the Reagan Library on September 16, 2015, in Simi Valley, California.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

There’s never a shortage of inane things said in defense of gun rights in the aftermath of mass shootings, but Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee found a way to stand out from the crowd in a CNN interview Friday.

“If you have crazy people who want to kill a lot of individuals, they’ll find a way to do it,” the former Arkansas governor said in a clip tweeted out by longtime adviser J. Hogan Gidley.

It’s a particularly absurd thing for Huckabee to say because he’s been such an ardent and offensive critic of the international deal to forestall Iran’s development of a nuclear weapon.

“This president’s foreign policy is the most feckless in American history. It is so naive that he would trust the Iranians. By doing so, he will take the Israelis and march them to the door of the oven,” Huckabee said in a July interview that drew rebukes from Jewish leaders.

But if Huckabee’s logic on guns is applied to Iranian efforts to secure nukes, the US should have no problem letting Tehran build to its heart’s delight. As Huckabee said, “If you have crazy people who want to kill a lot of individuals, they’ll find a way to do it.”

More in Politics

Podcasts
The Supreme Court abortion pills case, explainedThe Supreme Court abortion pills case, explained
Podcast
Podcasts

How Louisiana brought mifepristone back to SCOTUS.

By Peter Balonon-Rosen and Sean Rameswaram
Politics
Trump’s China policy is nearly the exact opposite of what everyone expectedTrump’s China policy is nearly the exact opposite of what everyone expected
Politics

As Trump heads to China, attention and resources are being shifted from Asia to yet another war in the Middle East.

By Joshua Keating
Politics
Are far-right politics just the new normal?Are far-right politics just the new normal?
Politics

Liberals are preparing for a longer war with right-wing populists than they once expected.

By Zack Beauchamp
The Logoff
Flavored vapes doomed Trump’s FDA headFlavored vapes doomed Trump’s FDA head
The Logoff

Why Marty Makary is out at the FDA, briefly explained.

By Cameron Peters
Politics
Virginia Democrats’ irresponsible new plan to save their gerrymanderVirginia Democrats’ irresponsible new plan to save their gerrymander
Politics

Democrats just handed the Supreme Court’s Republicans a loaded weapon.

By Ian Millhiser
The Logoff
Can Trump lower gas prices?Can Trump lower gas prices?
The Logoff

What suspending the gas tax would mean for you, briefly explained.

By Cameron Peters