'He shouldn’t have said that about the president of the United States,' Perry says. | AP Photos Perry has 'problems' with Nugent

Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Thursday that he has a “problem with” rocker Ted Nugent’s “tough words,” but that shouldn’t impact the campaign of Greg Abbott, who is running to replace Perry in office.

The Republican governor was asked on CNN’s “The Situation Room” on Thursday about comments from Nugent calling President Barack Obama a “subhuman mongrel” and the Texas attorney general’s decision to appear with him at a campaign event.


“That’s pretty tough words,” Perry said. “I wouldn’t have used those words. … I’m not going to get into this side of whether it’s appropriate or not. There are people who say things all the time. I mean, the idea that Ted Nugent said something that’s outrageous shouldn’t surprise anyone, he’s been saying outrageous things for a lot of years.”

Host Wolf Blitzer pressed Perry further, calling the comments “disgusting.”

“He shouldn’t have said that about the president of the United States,” Perry said. “I got a problem calling the president a mongrel. … I do have a problem with that. That is an inappropriate thing to say.”

But Perry said the comments shouldn’t have an impact on Abbott’s campaign.

“A comment by someone who has come in and endorsed him in the campaign I would suggest to you is not what this campaign is going to hinge upon, it’s going to be on Wendy Davis’s very liberal record,” Perry said. “I think this will be a news story or two and then we will get back to being focused on what the people of the state of Texas really care about.”

Perry did not commit to whether he would appear with Nugent on the campaign trail himself in the future, as he had done in the past.

“Ted and I have been on the stage together. He is a proud and a strong defender of the Constitution of the United States. We’ve all said things that we would like to reel back in; I suggest to you this was probably one of those for him,” Perry said. “I would recommend that he [apologize].”

On the subject of his future, Perry demurred on whether he would be making a repeat bid for president in 2016, as is widely expected in the face of his decision to not run for reelection as governor.

“Those that focused past 2014 are making a huge mistake,” Perry said. “I’m not looking past 2014. After Nov. 6 we can look into 2016. … I’ll make that decision in about 18 months.”

This article tagged under: Rick Perry

Ted Nugent