During NBC’s 11 a.m. ET hour special coverage of the Las Vegas shooting on Monday, White House Correspondent Hallie Jackson seemed disappointed that President Trump “did not mention guns or gun control” in his address to the nation following the attack. “I will tell you that from my vantage point here inside the Beltway, that is where the conversation is headed over on Capitol Hill among lawmakers who are already coming out,” the reporter added.
Co-host Matt Lauer fretted over the possibility of politics being injected into the tragedy: “Yeah, Hallie, there’s nothing political about a morning like this. And I believe we also said that the morning after the Newtown school shooting and it didn’t take long before the subject to turn to politics.”
That statement ironically followed Special Correspondent Tom Brokaw pushing gun control throughout the morning on the network.
Jackson agreed with Lauer’s assessment as she touted Democrats exploiting the story: “You’re absolutely right. And that’s what we’re already seeing here in Washington. You’ve got – you talk about Connecticut, both senators from Connecticut already bringing up gun control, already talking about what Congress might be able to do.” However, there wasn’t really any criticism of the liberal lawmakers for doing so.
Instead, later in the 1 p.m. ET hour, Jackson eagerly predicted that the White House would be grilled on the issue:
And in just a couple of minutes, about 15 minutes or 10 minutes, behind me you’ll see Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders take the podium for a briefing presumably to answer questions from reporters, likely about, for example, gun control. This is something that the President did not mention in his remarks earlier today from the Diplomatic Reception Room, but that has become a topic of conversation here in Washington.
In just the last few minutes, Gabby Giffords, the former U.S. Congresswoman who was shot in the head in Arizona in 2011, was over on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, along with her husband Mark Kelly, talking about the need for gun control reform, changes to current law. That has been echoed by some Democrats, including Senators Murphy and Blumenthal, both Democrats from Connecticut. After Sandy Hook, both of them became greater advocates for gun control as well.
Only briefly did she acknowledge the unseemly nature of Democrats pushing a political agenda immediately in the wake of such violence: “That said, there are others who believe that it is, as they have said, too early, for example, to talk about gun control or believe that any discussion about gun control is in essence politicizing the debate.”
“But I imagine that will likely be one of the first things that Sarah Huckabee Sanders is asked when she comes here to the podium in just a couple of minutes,” Jackson reiterated.
The White House reporter fulfilled her own prediction just minutes later during the briefing as she interrogated the Press Secretary:
And then asking about today as well, you talked about how now is not the time to get into a gun control debate or to talk about policy. After the Orlando shooting, the President that day was out on Twitter talking about policy. He was talking about his travel ban. So, when, for example, Senator Chris Murphy says it's time for Congress to get off its ass and do something, does the President agree?
Here are excerpts of Jackson’s October 2 coverage:
11:26 AM ET
(...)
HALLIE JACKSON: And I think it was notable for what you heard from the President and what you didn’t hear as well. He made references to scripture, he talked about unity, he talked about trying to find those moments of hope and selflessness in what appears to so many to be this senseless tragedy. But he did not mention, for example, terror or terrorism. He did not mention guns or gun control.
And I will tell you that from my vantage point here inside the Beltway, that is where the conversation is headed over on Capitol Hill among lawmakers who are already coming out. As we have seen again and again after incidents similar to this one – although of course there hasn’t been an incident like this one in the Trump administration to this point – that is where the conversation here in Washington appears to be headed. And as Tom Brokaw talked about earlier, you’re seeing, sort of the sides of this, people who feel differently about this topic, retreating to their corners.
It is an open question of whether the President will address this at all. Again, later today, he is still set to meet with the Prime Minister of Thailand, although we don’t expect that the press will get a look at that, that we’ll be able to bring cameras and video cameras in to see that meeting. It looks as though these remarks made from the Diplomatic Reception Room will stand alone from President Trump today here at the White House. Matt, Savannah?
LAUER: Yeah, Halle, there’s nothing political about a morning like this. And I believe we also said that the morning after the Newtown school shooting and it didn’t take long before the subject to turn to politics.
JACKSON: You’re absolutely right. And that’s what we’re already seeing here in Washington. You’ve got – you talk about Connecticut, both senators from Connecticut already bringing up gun control, already talking about what Congress might be able to do.
LAUER: Alright, Halle Jackson for us at the White House this morning where the President spoke a little bit earlier on, talking about the fact that we’re joined in sadness, shock, and grief, and talking about his trip – upcoming trip to Nevada this coming Wednesday.
(...)
1:50 PM ET
LAUER: NBC White House Correspondent Hallie Jackson has more on how the President is responding to the tragedy. Hallie?
JACKSON: Matt, we know that in about an hour, maybe a little less than that, the President will be out holding a moment of silence, along with his wife. That was obviously late addition to his schedule today.
And in just a couple of minutes, about 15 minutes or 10 minutes, behind me you’ll see Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders take the podium for a briefing presumably to answer questions from reporters, likely about, for example, gun control. This is something that the President did not mention in his remarks earlier today from the Diplomatic Reception Room, but that has become a topic of conversation here in Washington.
In just the last few minutes, Gabby Giffords, the former U.S. Congresswoman who was shot in the head in Arizona in 2011, was over on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, along with her husband Mark Kelly, talking about the need for gun control reform, changes to current law. That has been echoed by some Democrats, including Senators Murphy and Blumenthal, both Democrats from Connecticut. After Sandy Hook, both of them became greater advocates for gun control as well.
That said, there are others who believe that it is, as they have said, too early, for example, to talk about gun control or believe that any discussion about gun control is in essence politicizing the debate. But I imagine that will likely be one of the first things that Sarah Huckabee Sanders is asked when she comes here to the podium in just a couple of minutes.
(...)
