On Monday's Deadline: White House, MSNBC contributor and former Democrat Senator Claire McCaskill was eager to use the Boulder terrorist attack to promote gun control as she recalled that the perpetrator was legally barred from buying a gun because of his immigration status.
As the show devoted less than seven minutes of discussion toward the end of the show with ex-CIA director John Brennan and NBC News justice reporter Ryan Reilly, when McCaskill got her turn to speak, she spent her just over a minute of time making a lame attempt to plug gun control.
After noting that most of the charges of using molotov cocktails and a homemade flame thrower to attack victims would be prosecuted by state and local government, she added: "But he did try to buy a gun, Nicolle. He could have had an AR-15. If there wasn't a gun safety law in place that prevented him from buying a gun because of his status -- his immigration status."
Even though Republicans have never argued that illegal aliens should be allowed to purchase guns, McCaskill then took aim at opponents of gun control:
So all the people out there who say gun control -- gun safety measures don't work, we would have a different story today if he'd had an AR-15. There would have been people dead, and there would have been lots of people dead had he had a high-capacity magazine and the weapon to go with it. And so thank goodness -- I'm sorry these people were hurt -- I am so sorry they are being physically assaulted because of their religious beliefs, especially in our country.
She then concluded by emphasizing gun control: "...and I want to point out, and everyone should point out to everyone that gun safety measures work. They do save lives, and I do hope that's one of the takeaways from this tragedy."
Her implication that Republicans should support other gun control to prevent mass killings ignores the fact that mass killings using guns are almost always carried out either by perpetrators with no criminal record who could pass background checks or, in a lesser number of cases, stole their weapons or got them through already illegal straw purchases.
McCaskill has also notably shown on-air hypocrisy on the issue of enforcing existing gun laws. Back in 2021 when Daunte Wright was accidentally killed by Minnesota police while they tried to arrest him over illegal gun possession charges, the liberal contributor argued that the officers should not have been trying to arrest him over the issue. She did not mention that Wright was legally barred from possessing a gun while he awaited prosecution on armed robbery charges.
It was also not acknowledged that, if any of the victims in Boulder had been armed, or if the city did not have such strict gun laws, victims might have been able to fight back more aggressively.
Transcript follows:
MSNBC's Deadline: White House
June 2, 2025
5:42 p.m. Eastern
NICOLLE WALLACE: Claire, you get the last word.
CLAIRE McCASKILL, MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR/EX-SENATOR (D-MO): Yeah, I mean, I think one thing -- we should point one thing out. This is horrific -- I have a lot of confidence in state and local law enforcement here. The bulk of the punishment this man faces come from state charges -- the attempted murder -- and that's what state prosecutors do, not the federal government. But he did try to buy a gun, Nicolle. He could have had an AR-15. If there wasn't a gun safety law in place that prevented him from buying a gun because of his status -- his immigration status.
So all the people out there who say gun control -- gun safety measures don't work, we would have a different story today if he'd had an AR-15. There would have been people dead, and there would have been lots of people dead had he had a high-capacity magazine and the weapon to go with it. And so thank goodness -- I'm sorry these people were hurt -- I am so sorry they are being physically assaulted because of their religious beliefs, especially in our country. But I am grateful -- and I want to point out, and everyone should point out to everyone that gun safety measures work. They do save lives, and I do hope that's one of the takeaways from this tragedy.
