The White House on Thursday pushed back against Democrats who criticized the idea of offering “thoughts and prayers” in the aftermath of a mass shooting in Minneapolis that left two children dead and more than a dozen others injured.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the criticism directly when asked about remarks from her predecessor, Jen Psaki, and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. Both had argued that prayer, while meaningful to some, is not enough to prevent the violence that has become tragically routine in American life.
Leavitt called those comments “incredibly insensitive and disrespectful” to the millions of Americans of faith who believe prayer has real power. “It’s utterly disrespectful to deride the power of prayer in this country,” she said, encouraging Psaki and others to instead join in prayer for the Minnesota families who are now grieving.
The shooting took place Wednesday morning at Annunciation Church in Minneapolis. Two children, ages 8 and 10, were killed. Seventeen others were wounded, including 14 children. The fact that the violence unfolded in a place of worship, where children were attending mass, added to the anguish.
In the hours after the attack, Psaki — who served as press secretary during the Biden administration and now hosts a show on MSNBC — took to social media. “Prayer is not freaking enough,” she wrote. “Prayers do not end school shootings. Prayers do not make parents feel safe sending their kids to school. Prayer does not bring these kids back. Enough with the thoughts and prayers.”
Mayor Frey struck a similar tone during a press conference. “These kids were literally praying when the shooting happened,” he said. “Don’t just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now. These were American families, and the amount of pain they are suffering is extraordinary.”
The exchange underscores a deep divide in how Americans, and their leaders, respond to mass shootings. Democrats have long called for stricter gun laws, including bans on certain weapons and expanded background checks, arguing that policy is the only way to prevent the next tragedy. Republicans, meanwhile, have often deflected those calls, pointing instead to school security and mental health interventions, and rejecting what they describe as knee-jerk reactions to restrict firearms.
For the families in Minneapolis, those debates are cold comfort in the face of loss. Two children are gone. Dozens of others are scarred. And the country, once again, is fighting over whether words and rituals are enough in a nation where gunfire regularly punctuates public life.
