In January 2014, Nugent called Obama a "communist-educated, communist-nurtured subhuman mongrel". That February, Nugent endorsed Greg Abbott in the Republican primary election for Texas Governor. Abbott, however, distanced himself from Nugent due to the "subhuman mongrel" comment, saying, "This is not the kind of language I would use or endorse in any way." After being further chastised about it by Senator Rand Paul, Nugent apologized for the comment. However, when asked in April 2017 if he regretted his comments about Obama, he replied "No! I will never apologize for calling out evil people."