ABC chief White House correspondent Cecilia Vega was not happy with Republicans on Wednesday’s Good Morning America in the aftermath of Tuesday’s mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, as she asked “when will enough actually be enough? Is it 19 dead kids this time? Is that enough?”
Vega began by noting that President Biden “was extremely angry” in his address on the shooting, but “there has been little meaningful action on gun control taken by Capitol Hill in Congress in this city in nearly 30 deca—in nearly 30 years. The president has taken executive action on guns but even he concedes there's not much more he can do on that front so he is calling on Congress to act. He is saying, Robin, something has to change but you and I know this, we’ve covered so many of these, it's the same plea we hear time and time again after one of these incidents.”
After host Robin Roberts asked where legislation stands, Vega lamented, “the Senate could take a vote on background checks at some point but Democrats, they don't have the votes on that one so we always say this, it's the same refrain, gun control remains stalled on Capitol Hill and, look, Robin, there’s frustration on both sides this morning.”
After a clip of Sen. Chris Murphy repeatedly asking “what are we doing,” Vega returned to give Sen. Ted Cruz’s perspective, but without a video clip of his own. Vega was upset that Cruz, “hours after these 19 children and their teacher were murdered at school” was “blaming the media, blaming Democrats for politicizing the issue saying in times like these, they try to restrict the constitutional rights of law abiding citizens.”
Given opposition, Vega got around to answering Robin’s question, “when you guys ask where do things stand in this city, I'll tell you where they stand. They stand in exactly the same place they have stood for decades with these lawmakers facing this question: when will enough actually be enough? Is it 19 dead kids this time? Is that enough?”
One can predict that accusing Republicans of not caring about murdered children will not lead them to change their minds and support Murphy and Vega’s position.
Later in the hour, the show's co-hosts insisted voters believe gun control would solve mass shootings (click "expand")::
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: [Steve Kerr’s] not been afraid to speak out.
ROBIN ROBERTS: No, he has not and Amy said we cannot become numb. We can’t go, oh, oh, oh — and you know, when you got the news last — yesterday and it was just like, oh, another school shooting. No, no.
MICHAEL STRAHAN: No.
STEPHANOPOULOS: We especially can’t become numb because we were talking before, this is something that most people believe is easy to address.
STRAHAN: Easy to fix.
ROBERTS: Other than lawmakers, most people, but the lawmakers for whatever reason —
STRAHAN: Most people want certain things that lawmakers can't seem to pass and agree on.
ROBERTS: — that’s true.
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Here is a transcript for the May 25 show:
ABC Good Morning America
05/25/2022
7:13 PM ETROBIN ROBERTS: For more we’re going to bring in our chief White House correspondent Cecilia Vega. Good morning, Cecilia.
CECILIA VEGA: Hi, Robin. Good morning to you. So, President Biden, listen to this, he had barely been on the ground for a little over an hour after that Asia trip before he had to make this address to the nation and on top of that this is the second time that he has had to deliver one of these in just the span of a week. You saw a president last night who was grieving and you saw a president who was extremely angry. He has been talking about gun control for decades, in fact, as vice president he was put in charge of the White House response to gun control efforts in the wake of that Sandy Hook massacre and yet here we are.
There have been-- there has been little meaningful action on gun control taken by Capitol Hill in Congress in this city in nearly 30 deca—in nearly 30 years. The president has taken executive action on guns but even he concedes there's not much more he can do on that front so he is calling on Congress to act. He is saying, Robin, something has to change but you and I know this, we’ve covered —
ROBERTS: Yes.
VEGA: -- so many of these, it's the same plea we hear time and time again after one of these incidents.
ROBERTS: So, where do things actually stand, Cecilia, with lawmakers right now?
VEGA: Yeah, so the Senate could take a vote on background checks at some point but Democrats, they don't have the votes on that one so we always say this, it's the same refrain, gun control remains stalled on Capitol Hill and, look, Robin, there’s frustration on both sides this morning. Just listen to the senator from Connecticut who is from the state where that horrible Sandy Hook massacre occurred. Listen to him on the Senate floor yesterday.
CHRIS MURPHY: What are we doing? What are we doing? Just days after a shooter walked into a grocery store to gun down African-American patrons, we have another Sandy Hook on our hands. What are we doing? There were more mass shootings than days in the year. Our kids are living in fear. Every single time they set foot in the classroom they think they're going to be next. What are we doing?
VEGA: So, then there's the flip side. The Texas Senator Ted Cruz just hours after these 19 children and their teacher were murdered at school blaming the media, blaming Democrats for politicizing the issue saying in times like these, they try to restrict the constitutional rights of law abiding citizens so, Robin, guys, when you guys ask where do things stand in this city, I'll tell you where they stand. They stand in exactly the same place they have stood for decades with these lawmakers facing this question: when will enough actually be enough? Is it 19 dead kids this time? Is that enough?
