White House: Cruz gun ad ‘irresponsible’

White House press secretary Josh Earnest is chiding Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) for a fundraising page declaring that President Obama “wants your guns.”

“I think he’s appealing to people’s anxieties and insecurities, and even outright fears, in an attempt to win votes for his presidential campaign. That’s unfortunate,” Earnest said Thursday. “In some cases, it veers into the territory of being irresponsible.”

{mosads}The page, which appears on Cruz’s presidential campaign website, drew scrutiny on Tuesday after Obama rolled out new executive actions meant to expand background checks on gun purchases. 

The fundraising pitch shows Obama dressed in military garb, including a black helmet and jacket adorned with his 2008 campaign logo. “Obama Wants To Take Your Guns” reads the headline.

It’s the second time in two days that Earnest targeted Cruz, who has shot to the top of Republican presidential primary polls in the early-voting state of Iowa.

On Wednesday, the spokesman teased Cruz about his U.S. citizenship after rival Donald Trump’s attacks on the senator’s Canadian birthplace.