Director of National Intelligence and former U.S. Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard unleashed a sharp rebuke of MSNBC host and former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, accusing her of harboring a “hatred of God” in the wake of the deadly Minneapolis Catholic school shooting.
In a post that went viral, Psaki wrote that “Prayer is not freaking enough,” arguing that offering “thoughts and prayers” after such tragedies fails to provide safety or justice. “Prayers does 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.”
Gabbard responded: “So why is it that people like Jen Psaki and others have such a spontaneous, visceral negative reaction to those who are praying to God for refuge, strength, and for the well-being of the victims of this heinous attack? Because they do not believe in God or His love.
“Their response is rooted in their hatred of God,” Gabbard added. “They want to be God, so they view Him as their competitor. They are agents of darkness and hatred, and the light of God’s love is a threat to their dark ambitions.”
She further tied Psaki’s stance to broader cultural disagreements, denouncing transgender rights as “insanity and darkness,” using Martin Luther King Jr.’s philosophy, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”
Psaki’s statement had already drawn swift opposition from GOP figures. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday during a briefing that Psaki’s remarks were “utterly disrespectful” to Americans of faith and urged her to pray for grieving families.
“I saw the comments of my predecessor, Ms. Psaki, and frankly, I think they’re incredibly insensitive and disrespectful to the tens of millions of Americans of faith across this country who believe in the power of prayer, who believe that prayer works,” Leavitt said.
Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance, referencing the fact that children were praying during the attack, defended the traditional response of Republicans of offering “thoughts and prayers” in the wake of school shootings but generally opposing any gun safety legislation, which many Democrats argue would make such killings less likely in the future.
“We pray because our hearts are broken. We pray because we know God listens. We pray because we know that God works in mysterious ways, and can inspire us to further action,” Vance said in a post on X on Thursday. “Why do you feel the need to attack other people for praying when kids were just killed praying?”
In a follow-up post, Vance wrote, “Of all the weird left wing culture wars in the last few years, this is by far the most bizarre. ‘How dare you pray for innocent people in the midst of tragedy?!’ What are you even talking about?”
Psaki responded to the onslaught on her MSNBC show, saying: “The issue I raised yesterday and I will raise again today and I will not stop raising, is that people in power – like, say, people in the White House, who are using their platforms to do anything other than call for action for sensible gun safety measures, they’re doing anything else, like attacking me, which is a waste of time – they’re doing anything but saying what should be done to help prevent tragedies like the shooting in Minneapolis.
“And because they’re not doing that, frankly, they’re not doing enough. And people shouldn’t accept they’re doing enough.”
Fred Guttenberg, an anti-gun violence campaigner who lost his daughter Jaime, 14, in the Parkland school shooting in Florida in 2018, hit back at Gabbard’s latest comments, tweeting: “You are despicable to the core Tulsi.”
He wrote: “I agree with everything @jrpsaki was saying, FULL STOP!!! Why? Thoughts and prayers do not change my reality Jaime’s empty bedroom, missed life milestones and birthdays, or the fact that I visit my forever 14 daughter at the cemetery. I appreciate the thoughts and prayers and love from well meaning people, but that is not you. I despise people like you who use the idea of ‘thoughts and prayers’ to hide from the reality that you have always done nothing when it comes to gun violence and will always do nothing. When people like you say ‘thoughts and prayers’ all that I hear is you saying that is all you have and let’s move on.”
Authorities say Minneapolis church shooter Robin Westman, 23, was fixated on killing children, leaving 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski dead and injuring 18 others before dying by suicide.
Police said they have not been able to interview the suspect’s mother, Mary Grace Westman, who hired criminal defense attorney Ryan Garry after the shooting. Garry is known for previously working with NFL star Colin Kaepernick in representing George Floyd protesters.
Westman’s father, James Westman, reportedly told police the shooter had recently ended a “significant and/or romantic relationship” and was staying with a friend.
