President Biden’s response to the Nashville school shooting has come under fire. When asked about the shooting, Biden joked about the motive of the shooter, who killed three adults and three children at a Christian grade school. When a reporter asked if he agreed with the theory that Christians were specifically targeted, Biden replied, “I have no idea.” When the reporter mentioned that Senator Josh Hawley believes that the shooting was a hate crime against Christians, Biden responded with a smile, “Well, I probably don’t then.” He then added, “No, I’m joking. I have no idea.”
Biden’s joke has been criticized as tone-deaf and distasteful, especially as American families grapple with the impact of the horrific shooting. On Monday, he was also criticized for joking that he only made a public appearance because he heard there would be ice cream before addressing the attack that stunned the country hours earlier.
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie told Fox News that Biden misunderstood the moment, saying, “There’s no way to talk about something like this except to say that for all of us who are parents, what we dread every day is the news about the health and life of our children. And so there’s no room to joke in that circumstance at all. And certainly not from the President of the United States.”
Senator Josh Hawley also criticized Biden’s joke, tweeting, “What a disgrace.” He called for an investigation into the shooting as a hate crime and tweeted, “We should be clear about what happened in Nashville. Police say the shooting was ‘targeted.’ That makes it a federal hate crime – against Christian children and teachers. Targeting victims on the basis of religious affiliation is a hate crime. It should be investigated as such.”
