In the aftermath of the school shooting near Winder, Georgia, the first week of September, CNN and MSNBC not only promoted more gun control without considering the evidence that arming teachers would make schools safer, but they also helped Democrats smear the GOP presidential ticket by taking out of context running mate J.D. Vance's comments about the attack.
On the day the story broke, MSNBC's Katy Tur repeatedly asked gun control activist David Hogg, and then Congressman Ro Khanna (D-CA) if they were surprised that there were not more Americans protesting in the streets after each mass shooting. And several hosts and liberal guests claimed that mass shootings only happen in America in spite of studies finding they also happen in other countries.
Anchors also misleadingly claimed that there have been several dozen school shootings so far in 2024 even though in the overwhelming majority of cases, no one was killed, and, in some cases, no one was even injured.
After Senator Vance spoke out on the issue, describing it as a "fact of life" that some psychopaths target schools, making it necessary for lawmakers to make schools more secure, some CNN and MSNBC hosts picked up on Democrat distortions of his comments and promoted them. MSNBC's Joy Reid snarled: "...the Republican response to the tragic shooting in Georgia has been generally horrific, but of course J.D. Vance again takes the cake because of course he's J.D. Vance."
She soon added: "Vance's cold, matter of fact and honestly heartless response is reminiscent of Donald Trump's reaction to a school shooting in Perry, Iowa, ... 36 hours after it happened."
Without the context that Trump was telling supporters they needed to get past a school shooting that happened in Iowa in January so they could focus on the upcoming Iowa caucuses, Reid showed a clip of Trump talking to supporters after the Perry, Iowa shooting. Trump: "It's a very terrible thing that happened, and it's just terrible to see that happening, and that's just horrible. So surprising to see and hear. But we have to get over it -- we have to move forward. We have to move forward."
Frequent guest Basil Smikle angrily responded: "Gun violence has been present in my life for almost all my life. I lost many of my friends growing up to gun culture. So screw you if you think this is a fact of life that I should just get over tomorrow."
He soon added: "But Donald Trump and J.D. Vance are saying, 'Hey, you know what, just get over it.' Well, screw you in that mindset. We are drunk off of guns in this country."
A bit later, Reid demonized Senator Vance as not caring about children: "Yeah, and imagine being somebody like J.D. Vance who demands that women give birth to as many kids as possible -- he always calls them kids -- but then says, 'You know, if those kids get shot dead at school, sucks for them.'"
CNN's Jim Acosta had on gun control activists Fred Guttenberg and David Hogg on separate days, and allowed Guttenberg to distort Vance's comments to accuse him of thinking that school shootings are "a fact of life that we must accept." The liberal activist also promoted Kamala Harris for President.
MSNBC weekend host Ayman Mohyeldin similarly allowed The Atlantic's Tom Nichols to falsely claim that Vance argued that school shootings should just be tolerated as a "fact of life" even though Vance and other Republicans have advocated greater school security, including arming teachers, as a solution.
Transcripts follow:
MSNBC's Katy Tur Reports
September 4, 2024
3:04 p.m. Eastern
KATY TUR: Are you surprised that there aren't people marching in the streets? The number of people in this country who want gun control outnumber the number of people who do not -- big numbers. Are you surprised there are not marches in the streets after shootings like this all across this country? (DAVID HOGG)
... I appreciate what you say about the number of schools that came out, the millions of students. That is impressive. I'm just wondering if you're surprised -- because I sort of am -- why there aren't more Americans -- parents -- coming out in just cities across this country in less of a structured way after this happens. I mean, we see these large-scale protests in other places against things that are happening there. I know we're a large country, but given that we are seeing kids die so frequently in schools.
We're seeing individuals die in supermarkets, on splash pads, at parades, in banks, in churches, in synagogues, at New Year's Day celebrations. I mean, the list goes on and on. Every single place you go to in your daily life has now been touched by gun violence or a mass shooting -- not just daily gun violence but a mass shooting, movie theaters even. Given that and given the way we live with fear of going outside of our house -- every one of us now because of a person with a gun, are you surprised there is not more of an organic explosion of outrage across this country? (HOGG)
(...)
When do you expect your generation will become a powerful enough voting block to force the issue?
(HOGG)
... If the Democrats win the White House -- say they win the House and say they are able to maintain their lead in the Senate, that's going to be a big lift, and it would just be that it would be a very small margin if there's a margin at all. It might be a tie-breaking vote with the Vice President again. Do you want the Senate to get rid of the filibusters to try to pass gun control legislation? And if so, what sort of legislation? (HOGG)
What do you think of Kamala Harris's leadership on this issue?
(HOGG)
(...)
3:44 p.m.
TUR (to Congressman Ro Khanna (D-CA)): On the issue of guns, the majority of Americans want that to happen. They want universal background checks -- they want more safety checks around these assault weapons. They don't want someone to go out with a bump stock and shoot up a concert. They don't want a kid to have an assault rifle that he took from his parents or that he was going to buy on his own or get a ghost gun online, whatever, walk into a school and shoot people. They want to feel safe in their grocery store. I asked David Hogg this -- I'll ask you this as well. Do you find it surprising that there aren't more Americans in the street in the aftermath of these things -- just organically coming out and saying enough is enough?
(...)
MSNBC's Morning Joe
September 5, 2024
6:33 a.m.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: And this is just yet the latest in school shootings where AR-15s or AR platform weapons used to kill children. And just a reminder, again, that gun deaths are the number one cause of deaths for children in America. And, as we've said before, and as Kamala Harris said yesterday, this is a choice that Republican legislators make every single day to not pass meaningful gun safety laws. This is a choice.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Oh, but, Joe, this is not the time to talk about that. That's what they always say.
SCARBOROUGH: Well, the problem is, you know, they used to say that -- the problem is, they say, "Oh, you should wait a week." Well, no, there are so many mass shootings in America now that 1,708 young people died in acts of gun violence last year. Again, the number one cause of death for children in America. Why? Because it's a choice.
(...)
MSNBC's The ReidOut
September 5, 2024
7:40 p.m.
JOY REID (before commercial break): Coming up, the Republican response to the tragic shooting in Georgia has been generally horrific, but of course J.D. Vance again takes the cake because of course he's J.D. Vance.
(commercial break)
REID: Days after the murder of two teachers and two 14-year-old students at Appalachee High School in Georgia, J.D. Vance weighed in on what could be done to stop the epidemic of school shootings. He said gun laws were not going to solve the problem.
J.D. VANCE, GOP VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I don't like that this is a fact of life, but if you're -- if you are a psycho and you want to make headlines, you realize that our schools are soft targets, and we have got to bolster security at schools.
REID: Vance's cold, matter of fact and honestly heartless response is reminiscent of Donald Trump's reaction to a school shooting in Perry, Iowa, 36 after it -- 36 hours after it happened.
EX-PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP (from January 2024): It's a very terrible thing that happened, and it's just terrible to see that happening, and that's just horrible. So surprising to see and hear. But we have to get over it -- we have to move forward. We have to move forward.
REID: Huh! Back with me Basil Smikle, Tim O'Brien, and Molly Jong Fast. I just want to throw it out there for you guys. Here's Donald Trump speaking behind a bullet proof glass at a rally in Asheboro, North Carolina, on August 21. So he doesn't have to get over it. He gets to be behind a bullet-proof glass -- 14-year-olds, our children, our fourth graders, no bullet-proof glass for them. They just have to get over it -- it's a fact of life.
BASIL SMIKLE JR., ROOSEVELT HOUSE INSTITUTE: I was 12 years old, I was shot by a 14-year-old in front of my school. Gun violence has been present in my life for almost all my life. I lost many of my friends growing up to gun culture. So screw you if you think this is a fact of life that I should just get over tomorrow. There's a whole generation of school students growing up right now having to deal with the threat of somebody coming into their school room and killing their friend, themselves, their friends or their teachers. And if you consider the Parkland shooting and how those young people became active immediately after that shooting occurred and started lobbying elected officials of Congress to get rid of guns, that's the kind of culture of civil engagement we should be promoting.
But Donald Trump and J.D. Vance are saying, "Hey, you know what, just get over it." Well, screw you in that mindset. We are drunk off of guns in this country. And I think it takes someone like Kamala Harris -- hopefully Kamala Harris to able to say, "Look, I've dealt with a lot of people in my career who've had a lot of issues with guns, and we've got to figure out a way to get them out of our culture.
REID: Yeah, and imagine being somebody like J.D. Vance who demands that women give birth to as many kids as possible -- he always calls them kids -- but then says, "You know, if those kids get shot dead at school, sucks for them."
(...)
CNN Newsroom with Jim Acosta
September 6, 2024
10:24 a.m.
FRED GUTTENBERG, FATHER OF PARKLAND SHOOTING VICTIM: And also in the state of Georgia the laws are unacceptable. They had no red flag law, okay? There's no safe storage law, okay, and so, you know, the kinds of laws that smart states and smart communities and, on a national level are being pushed now are -- that are stopping these things -- they weren't in place here.
ACOSTA: And, Fred, let's talk about what you just mentioned a few moments ago. J.D. Vance, Republican vice presidential nominee, had this to say about what took place in Georgia. Here was his response.
J.D. VANCE, REPUBLICAN VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Clearly, strict gun laws is not the thing that is going to fix this problem. What is going to solve this problem -- and I really do believe this. Look, I don't like this. I don't like to admit this. I don't like that this is a fact of life. But if you're -- if you are a psycho and you want to make headlines, you realize that our schools are soft targets. And we have got to bolster security in our schools.
ACOSTA: First of all, Fred, we've got to get it out of the way. I mean, it's a fact of life in the United States. It doesn't have to be. But it's not a fact of life around the world. Your response to that?
GUTTENBERG: Well, but it's not even a fact of life in the United States. There's 115,000 schools in the United States. There are far fewer than 100 school shootings per year. And so here's my response. You know, I joined the Brady PAC as a senior advisor because there is only one way to solve the incorrect assessments and the bad policy prescriptions of people like J.D. Vance. And it's to make sure we get them out of the world of politics and we get them out of any decision-making when it comes to our public safety.
What J.D. Vance says is a "fact of life," well, for me, that would be true. I visit my daughter at the cemetery. But I will tell you -- last year, we invited every member of Congress to walk through the Parkland school where my daughter was shot. It is still an untouched crime scene. The blood is there, the DNA is there, the course work was still on the desk as if the kids had just walked away from them. J.D. Vance never showed up. He didn't come. But you know who did? Kamala Harris. Kamala Harris came and walked that building with me.
Because rather than thinking this is a fact of life that we need to accept, she wanted to see everything that led to the tragedy that could have been done to stop it, and how we actually need to rethink schools and public safety going forward in a world where there are 400 million plus weapons that aren't only making their ways into schools, but making them to political rallies. I mean, J.D. Vance forgets Donald Trump was shot just a couple of months ago. And so this is not something we have to say is a fact of life -- it is uniquely American. But it is also a fact of failed policy and failed politicians, and we get to fix this with our vote.
ACOSTA: Right, and one of the other facts of life is the polls show that a vast majority of Americans want tougher background checks. They want a whole host of gun safety laws that just aren't getting through the Congress because of opposition from the gun lobby. And that, too, is a -- that, too, is a fact of life. I mean, that's just a fact. These laws can't get through Congress, and they can't get signed by the President because of the gun lobby. That's a fact of life.
(...)
MSNBC's Ayman
September 8, 2024
8:26 p.m.
AYMAN MOHYELDIN: I want to get to J.D. Vance's reaction to this tragic mass shooting -- the school shooting this week in Winder, Georgia -- that left four people dead, including two children and two teachers. Watch this.
VANCE: Look, I don't like this. I don't like to admit this. I don't like that this a fact of life. But if you're -- if you are a psycho and you want to make headlines, you realize that our schools are soft targets. And we have got to bolster security at our schools.
MOHYELDIN: Tom, how can Republicans claim to be working to protect children when they are doing nothing to prevent these shootings that, as J.D. put it, are "facts of life"?
TOM NICHOLS, THE ATLANTIC: Yeah, you know, the school shootings picked up speed in the early 1980s, late 1970s, and they've been getting worse even as schools in other ways have become safer. These mass shootings have become more common -- these mass casualty events. And for someone who wants to be Vice President of the United States to simply say, "Eh, you know, what are you gonna do? These things happen." We don't -- we don't elect people to simply throw up their -- their hands and say, "Well, these things happen."
We can argue about whether the issue is mental health -- I think that's a big part of it. We can argue about whether the issue is too many guns -- that's clearly a part of it. But, again, it shows you how Vance has approached his entire career as, "You're all here to help me, J.D. Vance, become, you know, prominent and the Vice President of the United States. You know, if these gun things happen, you know, what can you possibly ask me to do about it?"
MOHYELDIN: Yeah, he basically wants our schools just to become bunkers, at this point, is the only policy proposal that J.D. Vance has.
(...)
CNN Newsroom with Jim Acosta
September 9, 2024
10:44 a.m.
JIM ACOSTA: And, David, you've had some time to think about all of this since this latest school shooting. What's your answer to this? I mean, what needs to be done?
DAVID HOGG, THE MARCH FOR OUR LIVES: I mean, look, we need to have a holistic approach to gun violence. We need to address what causes somebody like that young man to want to pick up a gun in the first place and use it to murder his classmates and teachers, but we also need to address how he got that gun and the laws surrounding that. And what we need to do is first, in my opinion, we need to abolish the filibuster. If we're going to get any action on guns, it's ridiculous that in Congress it takes them 60 votes for a, you know, to pass a bill. It's just absurd.
(...)
This is the leading cause of death for people under the age of 19 in the United States. There are children across the United States -- especially younger black and brown kids -- that don't go through a school shooting but go through gun violence outside of school but never get the attention or resources that many young people like I was when I was 17 who went through school shootings get. And that's not to say that we shouldn't no matter where they're impacted by gun violence needs that same attention and resources because that trauma is just as real, and we're failing to provide a lot of that coverage and care to a lot of communities that are the most impacted by gun violence.
ACOSTA: And, David, what about the AR-15? I mean, we're talking about an AR-15 in the Georgia case -- just over the weekend, the I-75 shooters -- time and again, the AR-15 has shown up in these mass shootings. What is the message to the candidates? And we're going to have a debate tomorrow night. Does there need to be a debate over the AR-15?
HOGG: Yeah, I think there needs to be a broader conversation about what we can agree on here. We've been debating this for, what, I was born a year after Columbine, right? We've been having this debate for a very, very, very, very long time.
