Jeb Bush gets backlash over gun tweet, jokes flood in on social media

SOUTH CAROLINA — Candidates for president are doing all they can to reach voters, but Jeb Bush's latest attempt didn't quite go as he planned.

Bush tweeted out a picture of a gun just before 4:30 p.m. Tuesday with the word "America."  The former Florida governor tweeted the photo of the hand gun engraved with a personalized insignia that read, "Gov. Jeb Bush."

The picture was posted after Bush visited a high-security firearm company in Columbia, South Carolina Tuesday morning. Bush said the tweet was a nod to his appearance at the factory, where the gun was made.

"The purpose was we went to a gun manufacturing facility where lots of jobs are created, high wage jobs and received a gun and I was honored to have it," Bush said.

Backlash and jokes quickly flooded social media as people posted their own pictures and used the same "America" caption. Everything from super heroes to food to Star Wars references were used to poke fun at the tweet.

One network news station reported some posts referencing a possible Bush suicide, which the Bush campaign quickly called "ridiculous."

Cox Media Group