White House correspondent John Harwood reacted to President Biden’s Thursday gun control address by declaring on CNN Newsroom that he “kept the heat” on “an extremist Republican Party.”
Host Jim Sciutto led Harwood by lamenting that most proposals have no chance of becoming law, “John, I don’t want to get cynical here, I do want to be honest with our viewers because we will report on measures that pass a Democratic-controlled House, but don’t have the votes to pass the Senate and becoming-- become law, so—so—what is the reality of the effort? What is still alive, what might still get through?”
Harwood didn’t do much to assuage Sciutto’s concerns, “Jim, it's not cynical at all. It's simply telling the truth.”
As for the speech, Harwood declared, “I think the White House goal for the Biden speech last night was to prevent the issue from fading away, as it's done after some past mass shootings where there's a brief flurry of talk about negotiations, then the heat goes down and the issue goes away. As a senior administration official told me this morning, I think the president kept the heat on Republicans. But they know that they are now facing an extremist Republican Party on this issue.”
Trying to back up his assertions, Harwood asked viewers to “Consider this, the president talked last night about an assault weapons ban. They passed it in 1994. They had nine Republican senators vote for that assault weapons ban. Republicans did not filibuster. When you then move ahead to 2013, after the Newtown massacre, Republicans did filibuster and blocked it, only four Republicans voted for even background checks.”
One naturally wonders if Harwood has a good definition of “assault weapon,” because Democrats sure don’t.
When it comes to the discussions currently underway in Congress, Harwood asserted “this is not about finding a middle ground compromise because Republicans aren't anywhere close to the middle ground. The question is whether they will give an inch or two or three on red flag laws, for example.”
Harwood concluded his thoughts by declaring, “It's a very difficult fight, but from the White House and Democratic perspective you’ve to wage it, you got wage a public argument, and if you can't get it done as the president said last night, you count on voters to respond. It's -- this is a very, very tough issue for them, given the rock solid Republican opposition”
Harwood might also want to check those polls again when confidently asserting Republicans aren’t near “the middle ground.”
This segment was sponsored by Ensure.
CNN Newsroom with Poppy Harlow and Jim Sciutto
6/3/2022
10:01 AM ET
JIM SCIUTTO: John, I don’t want to get cynical here, I do want to be honest with our viewers because we will report on measures that pass a Democratic-controlled House, but don’t have the votes to pass the Senate and becoming-- become law, so—so—what is the reality of the effort? What is still alive, what might still get through?
JOHN HARWOOD: Jim, it's not cynical at all. It's simply telling the truth. Look, I think the White House goal for the Biden speech last night was to prevent the issue from fading away, as it's done after some past mass shootings where there's a brief flurry of talk about negotiations, then the heat goes down and the issue goes away. As a senior administration official told me this morning, I think the president kept the heat on Republicans. But they know that they are now facing an extremist Republican Party on this issue.
Consider this, the president talked last night about an assault weapons ban. They passed it in 1994. They had nine Republican senators vote for that assault weapons ban. Republicans did not filibuster. When you then move ahead to 2013, after the Newtown massacre, Republicans did filibuster and blocked it, only four Republicans voted for even background checks. That wasn't an assault weapons ban. And so as you indicated, the discussions that are going on, on Capitol Hill, this is not about finding a middle ground compromise because Republicans aren't anywhere close to the middle ground. The question is whether they will give an inch or two or three on red flag laws, for example.
It's a very difficult fight, but from the White House and Democratic perspective you’ve to wage it, you got wage a public argument, and if you can't get it done as the president said last night, you count on voters to respond. It's -- this is a very, very tough issue for them, given the rock solid Republican opposition.
