--- title: Watch Eric Greitens Shoot a Machine Gun in This New TV Ad description: In a new ad, Missouri gubernatorial candidate Eric Greitens is shown loading and firing a machine gun. canonical: https://time.com/4440904/campaign-ads-eric-greiten-machine-gun/ author: Brendan Dorsey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-05T15:36:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:45:46.260Z article:section: Politics og:title: Watch a Candidate Shoot a Machine Gun in His New Campaign Ad og:description: "When he fights back, he brings out the big guns." og:url: https://time.com/4440904/campaign-ads-eric-greiten-machine-gun/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta8b1606362d58001/6988a15697cdff32376ad57a/gettyimages-143993212-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Eric Greitens Founder and CEO, The Mission Continues speaks at the Robin Hood Veterans Summit at Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum on May 7, 2012 in New York City. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch a Candidate Shoot a Machine Gun in His New Campaign Ad twitter:description: "When he fights back, he brings out the big guns." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta8b1606362d58001/6988a15697cdff32376ad57a/gettyimages-143993212-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Watch a Candidate Shoot a Machine Gun in This New Campaign Ad > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=1101f6d4-30ef-4fce-9a0a-06cab708d1e3&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) by [Brendan Dorsey](https://time.com/author/brendan-dorsey/) ## Brendan Dorsey Aug 5, 2016 3:36 PM UTC  Eric Greitens Founder and CEO, The Mission Continues speaks at the Robin Hood Veterans Summit at Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum on May 7, 2012 in New York City. Eric Greitens Founder and CEO, The Mission Continues speaks at the Robin Hood Veterans Summit at Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum on May 7, 2012 in New York City. Craig Barritt—Getty Images by [Brendan Dorsey](https://time.com/author/brendan-dorsey/) ## Brendan Dorsey Aug 5, 2016 3:36 PM UTC Each election cycle, the list of most memorable political ads includes one involving a candidate shooting something. In 2010, West Virginia Senate candidate Joe Manchin ran an ad in which he took [“dead aim”](http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2012290%5F2012286%5F2026496,00.html) at a climate change bill by shooting it with a rifle. In 2012, Ohio Congressional candidate Joe Wurzelbacher was filmed [loading a shotgun](http://www.politico.com/story/2012/09/25-unforgettable-campaign-ads-of-2012-081756?o=0) and shooting several targets for an ad. In 2014, Kentucky Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes went [skeet shooting](http://time.com/3554869/2014-memorable-political-ads/) for an ad. But Eric Greitens has escalated the ad war probably as far as it can go. [In a new ad](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-VfFi6Z14Q), the Missouri gubernatorial candidate is shown loading and firing a machine gun. “Eric Greitens is under attack from Obama’s Democrat machine,” a voiceover says as Greitens puts on protective eyewear and ear protection. “But Eric Greitens is a conservative warrior and when he fights back, he brings out the big guns.” A former Navy Seal, Greitens [won the Republican primary](http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/ex-navy-seal-eric-greitens-wins-missouri-gop-governor-primary/) Tuesday after casting himself as a conservative outsider. In [an ad during the primary](http://But Eric Greitens has escalated the ad war probably as far as it can go. In a new ad, the Missouri gubernatorial candidate is shown loading and firing a machine gun.), he was shown firing an assault rifle. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4440904/campaign-ads-eric-greiten-machine-gun/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4440904/campaign-ads-eric-greiten-machine-gun/"},"headline":"Watch a Candidate Shoot a Machine Gun in This New Campaign Ad","datePublished":"2016-08-05T15:36:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:45:46.260Z","description":"'When he fights back, he brings out the big guns'","url":"https://time.com/4440904/campaign-ads-eric-greiten-machine-gun/","keywords":["campaign ads","2016 Election","Missouri"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta8b1606362d58001/6988a15697cdff32376ad57a/gettyimages-143993212-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Brendan Dorsey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/brendan-dorsey/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta8b1606362d58001/6988a15697cdff32376ad57a/gettyimages-143993212-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Eric Greitens Founder and CEO, The Mission Continues speaks at the Robin Hood Veterans Summit at Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum on May 7, 2012 in New York City.","caption":"Eric Greitens Founder and CEO, The Mission Continues speaks at the Robin Hood Veterans Summit at Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum on May 7, 2012 in New York City.","creditText":"Craig Barritt—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/campaign-ads/","name":"campaign ads"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4440904/campaign-ads-eric-greiten-machine-gun/","name":"Watch a Candidate Shoot a Machine Gun in This New Campaign Ad"}}]}] ```