Trump fires back at rap artist Snoop Dogg over new controversial video

US President Donald Trump, who has managed to stay in the headlines every day since assuming office, has now lashed out at musician Snoop Dogg for depicting a clown, dressed as him, being shot by the rapper.

Can you imagine what the outcry would be if @SnoopDogg, failing career and all, had aimed and fired the gun at President Obama? Jail time!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 15, 2017

The music video for Lavender – uploaded on YouTube on March 12 – caused an uproar among right-wing politicians and others on the Internet for portrayal and alleged subtle leaning toward gun violence, a hot topic trending in the US.

More amicable period: Trump tries to shake Snoop Dogg's hand in his signature vigorous-jerk style

Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who responded quite promptly, told entertainment news outlet TMZ, “We’ve had presidents assassinated before in this country, so anything like that is really something we should be very careful about, […] because the wrong person sees that and gets the wrong idea, you can have a real problem.”

Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen stated, “Snoop owes the president an apology.” He went on to say that “an assassination attempt on a president” is not a joking matter.

Ted Cruz, the politician who was among the contenders for Republican Party’s nomination for 45th President of the US, mentioned how the video has been made “in poor taste,” and that it’s bad “to be making fun of murdering someone, and in particular assassinating the president.”

Interestingly, Trump on January 23, 2016, had said he could "shoot somebody" at Fifth Avenue in New York and still maintain his voters, according to Reuters.

Snoop Dogg, on the other hand, spoke to Billboard about his latest project and said “I don’t ever expect or look for a reaction. I just put it out because I feel like it’s something that’s missing. Any time I drop something, I’m trying to fill in a void.”

The rapper also highlights the story of Philando Castile, a black man who was killed when police shot him at a traffic stop last year, in the music video.

Shootings, especially of black people, in the US, have been on a rise in recent times. As per The Guardian, which maintains a record of police killings in the country, 266 black people were shot fatally in 2016.

Jesse Wellens, Lavender’s director, explained how they “wanted to bring the clowns out because it’s clownery – it’s ridiculous what’s happening. […] As America, it just doesn't seem like we're very respected right now."

“Nobody’s dealing with the real issue with this […] clown as president, and the shit that we dealing with out here,” Snoop Dogg commented.

The video has numerous pop culture and social media references, including ClownTube, System of a Clown, and The Clown House (YouTube, System of a Down, and The White House, respectively), and Harley Quinn.

The song, originally by BadBadNotGood and Kaytranada, is set to be included in the artist’s upcoming album “called Never Left and it should be out [soon], maybe in May,” Snoop Dogg said.