In remarks shared via a video clip over Twitter, President Joe Biden on Monday managed to politicize the shooting that took place earlier that day at at Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee. Three children and three adults were killed. The suspected shooter, who, as Julio reported identified as transgender, is also dead.
I call on Congress again to pass my assault weapons ban.
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 27, 2023
It's about time we make some more progress. pic.twitter.com/ZE584cUN6R
The approximately one-minute long video clip, which included some rather jarring edits of Biden's full remarks at a women's summit, featured the president referring to the shooting as "sick" as well as "heartbreaking" and "a family's worst nightmare." He went on to share "we have to do more to stop gun violence," which is "ripping our communities apart, ripping at the very soul of the nation." Biden also shared that "we have to do more to protect our schools so they aren't turned into prisons."
Biden had himself acknowledged at the beginning of these remarks that "we're still gathering the facts," but still went on to use this situation to call for an assault weapons ban. "The shooter reportedly had two assault weapons, and a pistol," he said, before saying "I call on Congress again to pass my assault weapons ban," and that "it's about time that we began to make some progress." In the full remarks included in the official White House transcript, Biden described them as AK-47s.
"The shooter was armed with two 'assault-style' weapons--a rifle and a pistol--as well as a handgun, authorities said. At least two of them were believed to have been obtained legally in the Nashville area," the Associated Press reported on Monday. At this time it is not clear which two weapons were the ones "obtained legally."
What makes Biden's remarks even more "appalling," as our friends at Twitchy aptly put it, is that those Monday remarks began with him joking about his love for ice cream.
"My name is Joe Biden. I’m Dr. Jill Biden’s husband. And I eat Jeni’s Ice Cream, chocolate chip. I came down because I heard there was chocolate chip ice cream," he said to laughter. "By the way, I have a whole refrigerator full upstairs. You think I’m kidding, I’m not," he continued.
BIDEN: "I eat Jeni's ice cream—chocolate chip...I have a whole refrigerator full upstairs! You think I'm kidding? I'm not!" pic.twitter.com/qRDI72T1zM
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 27, 2023
It's something of a habit for this administration to call on Congress to pass a so-called "assault weapons ban." President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris frequently do so. Biden has also brought up fact-checked remarks about the previous ban that Congress let expire.
That Biden would also claim "it's about time that we began to make some progress" is curious. He has been quick to praise Congress for passing gun control laws last June, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which he signed into law. Further, less than two weeks ago, the president announced executive actions which a headline claimed would "Reduce Gun Violence and Make Our Communities Safer." Evidently, that has not turned out to be the case. As Sarah covered at the time, gun rights groups are threatening to sue over the actions.
"Ice cream" is trending on Twitter in response to Biden's joking around about the dessert item.