President Barack Obama shoots clay targets at Camp David Aug. 4, 2012 (Pete Souza/White House)
The White House was still answering for "Skeet Gate" Monday following a photo released late Friday of President Barack Obama shooting skeet in Aug. 2012.
"Why did the White House decide to release the skeet shooting photos three days before this trip?" a reporter asked White House press secretary Jay Carney during Monday's briefing aboard Air Force One en route to Minnesota, where the president is delivering remarks on gun violence.
"The president was asked the question, did not volunteer, but was asked the question about whether or not he had ever shot a weapon. He answered with the truth," Carney said. "I think it's fair to say we believe that would have been answer enough."
When asked by The New Republic's Franklin Foer in an interview published Jan. 27 if Obama has ever fired a gun, the president responded:
Yes, in fact, up at Camp David, we do skeet shooting all the time.
That comment sent gun rights advocates, the press, and the general public searching for evidence Obama engaged in skeet shooting "all the time."
Carney was asked by the press for photographic evidence.
None was provided.
Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) asked to shoot skeet with the president.
The White House would not comment.
Complicating things for the White House, the president made the skeet shooting statement at a time when he is pressing Congress and the public to support gun control measures following December's shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
And then suddenly late Friday night, a photo of Obama shooting skeet in Aug. 2012 appeared on the White House Flickr feed.
Carney on Monday defended the release, saying they had received questions about the president's skeet shooting. "So we decided to tweet a photo of the president shooting at Camp David," Carney said. "The timing of that I think was explained by what I said."
Carney stressed that the president's personal time spent with friends and family at Camp David is not publicized.
"I think he has gotten better," at skeet shooting, Carney said after failing to confirm whether the president shoots skeet or trap. He added that the president has never claimed to have grown up "a hunter."
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