I’ve watched the link twice now…and failing to comprehend why you find the comment so hilarious/outrageous. Now, you did say this -
which suggests you think her intent was to play up the scary nature of blackplasticscraygunthing for the hoplophobes in the audience. Is it also possible that her intention was to underscore danger of the area the general was in, such that he felt the need to be armed in a manner similar to his soldiers there? That lugging the rifle about wasn’t just for the sake of a photo op, but to be put to use in the event the general found himself attacked by the Taliban?
Look at it from the perspective of a non-military audience. Is it so hard to conceive that her mentioning the weapon was fully loaded was intended to underscore the danger inherent in the region the general was visiting? To underscore that the Taliban/religious extremists are still a threat? That the general was not engaging in a silly photo-op of machismo? All of that might seem obvious to you, but is it conceivable it might not be so to someone else?