Last week, in an interview on KHOW radio, Congresswoman Lauren Boebert (R-CO) was asked about the metal detectors Democrats have set up to keep Boebert and other U.S. Representatives from carrying their guns onto the House floor, where firearms aren’t allowed.

Boebert created a media spectacle around the metal detectors in January, setting them off by carrying her purse through them–and then resisting the inevitable attempt by U.S. Capitol Police to search her.

It turned out she apparently didn’t have her gun with her anyway when she walked through the metal detectors, and she was not among the Republicans who were later fined for skirting the security devices.

So for Boebert, the gun and the metal detectors have been a side-show PR game, like a corn maze might be for a child bouncing around rides at a county fair.

Her gun has turned out to be an incredibly reliable PR tool. It has nothing to do with protection. That’s probably why she mostly made up her story about why she started carrying a firearm in the first place.

How can I use my gun to get more attention, she must ask herself when she wakes up in the morning. How many guns can I flash in my Zoom background? How will my gun lure a camera?

How can I milk more media out of a metal detector?

So, on the radio March 24, instead of just saying the metal detectors remain in place and she’s following the rules, Boebert launched into a tirade against other members of Congress who rightfully feel inconvenienced by the security hassles caused by Boebert.

Beoebert explained on air with a laugh: “I had one member who actually wasn’t too happy that we had the metal detectors, and he blamed me for it. And I said, ‘Well, if that’s the case, gentlemen, I blame you for the masks and the double masks and soon-to-be anal swabs for COVID testing.”

“Soon-to-be anal swabs” for COVID testing?

Boebert is flailing to get attention by likening the U.S. House to China, which administered anal swabs to some foreign visitors.

She made a similar comment on Twitter March 4, in reference to China requiring anal swabs for some foreign visitors: “Good thing we’ve been conditioned for a year by our government and now know how to bend over and take it because it’s a mandate.”

Extremism is Boebert’s PR staple, and it can look desperate to start with.

But flailing desperation is worse.