CNN Inside Politics host John King spent Tuesday parroting Democratic Rep. Morgan McGarvey’s assertion at the law enforcement press conference on the Louisville bank shooting that by focusing on things such as education instead of gun control, Republicans aren’t being adults and have their priorities backwards.
Washington Post Early 202 co-author Leigh Ann Caldwell didn’t explicitly mention “Democrats” and “Republicans,” but it was clear which side was which when she lamented, “There's politicians and people in power in this country who want to do something about it, and then there's politicians and people in power in this country who don't want to do anything about it and that is the situation that we're in and that we've been in for a very, very long time.”
Caldwell also claimed that “it is interesting that in the South you have Nashville and Louisville, who are the center of this gun rights movement or gun control movement right now.”
King responded by highlighting some other aspects of the South, “And they're also the center of other priorities of Republicans if you will, and legislatures, whether it's talking about schools, whether it's talking about transgender athletes, whether it's trying to pass new state abortion restrictions.”
That King is upset that Republicans are doing Republican things is bad enough, but King used his proclamation to introduce a clip of McGarvey, “He's trying to get the adults to sit down at the table, and he's trying to shake Republicans asking them. How about your priorities here?”
The video showed McGarvey declaring “That is not a political issue, but it becomes one when Kentucky Republicans would rather ban books and pronouns and then make Kentucky a sanctuary state for weapons.”
Using a law enforcement press conference about a bank shooting to spread misinformation about book bans and hype gender theory makes one the opposite of an adult. Still, despite his earlier denunciation of Republicans, King claimed he simply wants “adults” to have a conversation:
We've had this conversation too many times. We talked about in the show meeting that we're unfortunately prepared for days like this and we sort of know how to put the shows together and get the law enforcement people and the like. Will, that, that this is happening as, again, the blue communities, Democratic communities, the urban communities in Republican states. Is it possible that finally you get a conversation? Not here to dictate outcomes. Just get adults in a room to talk things through.
USA Today White House correspondent Francesca Chambers agreed that McGarvey “had some powerful words about how we need to as a country turn grief into action,” but mournfully lamented that Congress most likely won’t pass any new gun control laws.
This segment was sponsored by LeafFilter.
Here is a transcript for the April 11 show:
CNN Inside Politics with John King
4/11/2023
12:38 PM ET
LEIGH ANN CALDWELL: There's politicians and people in power in this country who want to do something about it, and then there's politicians and people in power in this country who don't want to do anything about it and that is the situation that we're in and that we've been in for a very, very long time.
It's interesting now that there are local calls to do something knowing that Congress has failed over and over again to make any sort of big, meaningful changes to gun legislation. Of course they passed something a year ago, and now every time one of this happens, what members of Congress say is “well, we passed this last year, that was a big lift. That's probably all we're going to get right now.”
And so it is interesting that in the South you have Nashville and Louisville, who are the center of this gun rights movement or gun control movement right now.
JOHN KING: And they're also the center of other priorities of Republicans if you will, and legislatures, whether it's talking about schools, whether it's talking about transgender athletes, whether it's trying to pass new state abortion restrictions, and Congressman McGarvey, a Democrat from Louisville, he's a freshman, that district was represented for a long time by John Yarmuth, who left the district. So you have a freshman Democrat in the United States Congress working here in Washington, who served for years in the legislature.
He's trying to get the adults to sit down at the table, and he's trying to shake Republicans asking them. How about your priorities here?
MORGAN MCGARVEY: That is not a political issue, but it becomes one when Kentucky Republicans would rather ban books and pronouns and then make Kentucky a sanctuary state for weapons.
KING: We've had this conversation too many times. We talked about in the show meeting that we're unfortunately prepared for days like this and we sort of know how to put the shows together and get the law enforcement people and the like. Will, that, that this is happening as, again, the blue communities, Democratic communities, the urban communities in Republican states. Is it possible that finally you get a conversation?
Not here to dictate outcomes. Just get adults in a room to talk things through.
FRANCESCA CHAMBERS: And he also had some powerful words about how we need to as a country turn grief into action here and Congress is currently in recess. So perhaps when they come back, this is an issue that they'll start taking a look at.
You mentioned that he's a freshman. He could certainly help to lead the charge on that, but you also heard the White House, saying yesterday that when it comes to president Biden that he has acted through executive order and really putting the onus on Republicans in Congress if anything is going to get done here, and that certainly does sound like a broken record at a certain point, as you were saying, John because we've seen time and time again when these things happen, the president saying that, but that's where the White house says that they just are at this point.
