Missouri State Fair apologizes after rodeo clown mocks Obama

{mosads}The rodeo clown appeared at a bull-riding competition on Saturday and was introduced by an announcer who asked the audience if they wanted to see “Obama run down by a bull.” 

“We’re going to smoke Obama, man” said the clown, according to reports, and was chased by a steer as the crowd roared.

The event drew quick criticism from both parties, with Republican Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder calling the performance “disrespectful” in a tweet on Sunday.

The @MoStateFair celebrates Missouri and our people. I condemn the actions disrespectful to POTUS the other night. We are better than this.

— Peter Kinder (@PeterKinder) August 11, 2013

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said the state fair, which is funded by tax dollars, is “supposed to be a place where we can all bring our families and celebrate the state that we love.”

“But the young Missourians who witnessed this stunt learned exactly the wrong lesson about political discourse, that somehow it’s ever acceptable to, in a public event, disrespect, taunt, and joke about harming the President of our great nation,” McCaskill added. 

The Missouri Rodeo Cowboy Association, which helped organize the competition, also apologized, saying their sport was not “meant to be a political platform.”