Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg ran a $10 million Super Bowl commercial Sunday citing misleading data on gun-related deaths for children that includes adults and suicides.
The ad centers around the life and death of George Kemp Jr., who was shot and killed in 2013. After Kemp’s mother finished narrating his story, a statistic appears, stating, “2,900 CHILDREN DIE FROM GUN VIOLENCE EVERY YEAR.”
As a kid, George Kemp Jr. dreamed of playing in a #SuperBowl. Gun violence robbed him of that dream. But tonight, George was at the Super Bowl inspiring us all in a more powerful way. https://t.co/EijgNsu1Il pic.twitter.com/k4o3o69k6s
— Mike Bloomberg (@MikeBloomberg) February 3, 2020
Fox News cited court documents showing that Kemp was 20-years-old when he was killed in what the court believed to be a “gang-related shooting.”
The ad didn’t cite a source for its 2,900 statistic. Stephen Gutowski of the Washington Free Beacon reported that the figure appears to come from a study done by Everytown for Gun Safety — a gun control-centered nonprofit founded by Bloomberg. Gutowski discovered that the study included 18 and 19-year-olds in its research, despite claiming the statistic was regarding the deaths of children.
Michael Bloomberg is paying $10 million to run an ad focused on his gun-control advocacy during the Super Bowl. The ad makes the claim that “2,900 children die from gun violence every year” but about half that number appear to be adults. https://t.co/JqnP52oboj
— Stephen Gutowski (@StephenGutowski) February 1, 2020
The Everytown for Gun Safety study cites data from 2013 to 2017 via the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, taking the annual average of gun-related deaths for Americans under 20-years-old to come up with 2,887 deaths. As Gutowski notes, when using the same data for those under 18, the number drops to 1,499 deaths — a nearly 50% decline. (RELATED: Latest 2020 Democratic Primary Poll Sees Mike Bloomberg Surge Past Elizabeth Warren Into Third Place)
Of the 2,887 deaths for those under 20-years-old cited by Bloomberg’s nonprofit, 36% were due to suicide. Of the 1,499 deaths under 18-years-old, the number of suicides increases to 39%.
The National Rifle Association released an ad of their own in response to the Bloomberg commercial Sunday. The video shows NRA supporters expressing opposition to Bloomberg’s push for gun control.
NRA members don’t like hypocritical NYC billionaires. You want to know how real Americans feel, Bloomberg? Watch this!
Your $10M #SuperBowl ad won’t beat the American spirit. You want to take our guns, go ahead and try. We will fight for our freedom. #SuperBowlLIV #GAOS2020 pic.twitter.com/Bq8bNUqpCn
— NRA (@NRA) February 3, 2020
“Mike Bloomberg suggests that disarming minority males like myself will keep us alive,” a man named Rehn said in the video. “But I have news for you: Mike Bloomberg is a white billionaire who has no place in telling me how I can defend myself or my loved one.” (RELATED: DNC Rule Change Will Make It Easier For Seven-Figure DNC Donor Michael Bloomberg To Qualify For Debates)
The Bloomberg campaign has gained support in recent weeks, with the latest national poll from The Hill and HarrisX having him in third place for the Democratic nomination.