Bayonet Company 'Offended' by Obama's 'Ignorant' Statement

As the backlash against Obama’s bayonet comment continues to swell, members of the bayonet industry say they “were offended when Obama brought the weapon up during [the] debate.”

The problematic statement came during Monday’s presidential debate when President Obama looked at Gov. Romney and mockingly said: “You mentioned the Navy… and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. Well Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets, because the nature of our military has changed.”

Of course, the facts are that we now have more bayonets in use than we did in 1916, because close combat is still close combat. 

TMZ spoke with “multiple people” from the bayonet industry, all of them said they “were shocked” that Obama said what he did. 

Dan Riker, from Bayonet Inc., said Obama’s comments were “ignorant” because “our soldiers still use bayonets.” He added: “[Bayonets] are still distributed to the military all the time — [Obama] should get educated on it.”  

And soldiers aren’t the only ones who still use bayonets. The official U.S. Marine Corps website says “every Marine receives bayonet training in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program and on the Bayonet Assault Course in Recruit Training.” Another page on the USMC website says: “In close combat situations where a rifle cannot be fired, the bayonet is an indispensible, lethal weapon. Learning how to effectively use a bayonet is an important part of Marine Corps training.”

A lot of things have changed since 1916, but a warrior’s reliance on a bayonet in close quarters isn’t one of them.