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Burr Apologizes For 'Bullseye' Joke About Hillary Clinton

Senator Richard Burr. Credit: U.S. Senate official photo

Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr apologized Monday for saying he was surprised a magazine about guns didn't put a “bullseye” on Hillary Clinton's face.

Burr was answering questions in a private gathering of Republicans in Mooresville.

He made the comment while telling a brief anecdote after he noticed a man at the event wearing a National Rifle Association hat.

Nothing made me feel any better than when I walked into a gun shop, I think yesterday in Oxford, and there was copy of Rifleman (the NRA's official magazine) on the counter,” Burr said. “It's got a picture of Hillary Clinton on the front of it. I was a little bit shocked that it didn't have a bullseye on it.

The News and Observer reports Burr's campaign issued an apology for the comment after CNN obtained the recording Monday.

He also indicated at the gathering that if re-elected he would block any Supreme Court nominee put forward by Clinton.

Burr is in a tight race with Democratic Challenger Deborah Ross. In a statement, she says his comments are part of a disturbing pattern of Burr not representing North Carolina's values.

 
Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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