In general, Republican politicians have stuck to a familiar formula in recent years following the deadly school shooting: They (1) offer “thoughts and prayers,” (2) say something along the lines of “this is not the time to talk politics,” and (3) roll out hackneyed culture war ideas like regulating video games and promoting state-sponsored religion in public schools.
As time goes on, the horror fades from the front pages, and Republican Party policymakers simply wait for the next deadly school shooting, and then the vicious cycle begins all over again.
But Republican politics in the Trump era were somewhat different.
For example, earlier this year, Donald Trump responded to the school shooting in Iowa by urging his supporters to “look forward,” adding that he was convinced people needed to “get over it.”
The former president’s comments came to mind after reading new and similar statements from his 2024 vice presidential candidate. The Associated Press reported:
Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance said Thursday he regretted that school shootings were a “fact of life” and argued that the U.S. must tighten security measures to prevent further bloodbaths like the one that left four people dead in Georgia this week.
Of course, the Ohio senator was not indifferent to the bloodshed. At a campaign rally in Phoenix, Vance called the Apalachee High School shooting “horrific,” adding, “No parent should have to deal with this. No child should have to deal with this. And yes, after we have supported these people in our prayers and offered them our condolences, because that is what people deserve in a time of tragedy, we need to think about how we can make sure this happens less often.”
The Republican vice presidential candidate had explicitly proposed increased security in schools as a possible solution, but this approach fell far short of expectations in other areas.
Still, Vance concluded, “I don’t like that this is a fact.”
I realize that everyone has to deal with everyday frustrations in their day-to-day lives. If you’re about to go for a walk with your dog and it suddenly starts pouring with rain, it’s annoying, but you realize that rain showers are just a part of life.
However, it is not a “fact” that heavily armed children commit mass murder in schools. It is a social evil unique to the United States – the result of a society in which guns are everywhere, and this is due to weak laws that Republican politicians like Trump and Vance refuse to reform.
Shortly after Vance’s public comments, the Harris/Walz campaign released a written statement saying, “Yesterday, in response to yet another senseless school shooting, Vice President Harris said, ‘It doesn’t have to be this way.’ Donald Trump and JD Vance think school shootings are a ‘fact of life’ and ‘we need to get over it.'”
“Vice President Harris and Governor Walz know we can do something to protect our children and prevent criminals from getting guns. Donald Trump and JD Vance will choose the NRA and the gun lobby over our children. That is the choice in this election.”
