"Morning Joe" co-host Joe Scarborough had harsh criticism for pro-gun advocates and defenders of "assault" weapons on Thursday, calling them "fools" and "jackasses" after Senate testimony on the subject Wednesday.

"Morning Joe" played clips of Sen. Lindsey Graham defending assault weapons and high-capacity magazines because a mother should not have to face the fear of running out of bullets if defending herself and her children.

Scarborough was dumbfounded.

"And therein ... lies the problem," Scarborough said, "with having to defend assault weapons. Because if you go out and try to defend assault weapons, then you end up looking like a jackass."

He scrambled a few words before moving on to the issue of background checks, which NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre said the organization would not support because criminals would not submit to them.

"Why do we have any laws on the books?" Scarborough said. "There are terrorists that are going to end up getting into the United States of America, so why do we even try to stop al-Qaeda? Right? They say they’re going to attack us again — so why don’t we let down all of our defenses and just give up?"

Scarborough lamented that "nobody listened to him," and he worried the GOP's alignment with the NRA — he called its members "fools" for doing so — would cost them in 2014 and 2016 elections.

Watch the clip below:

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