On Monday, 14 people were killed and 17 others were injured when an armed man and a woman entered the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California, and shot county health officials who were gathered in the conference center for an employee banquet. Both suspected shooters were killed after the initial attack.
It is the nation’s deadliest mass shooting since a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut, almost three years ago.
GOP candidates tweeted out their condolences to the victims and their families, many of them sending prayers:
California shooting looks very bad. Good luck to law enforcement and God bless. This is when our police are so appreciated!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 2, 2015
My thoughts and prayers are with the shooting victims and their families in San Bernardino.
— Dr. Ben Carson (@RealBenCarson) December 2, 2015
Praying for those impacted by the shooting in California today.
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) December 2, 2015
Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their loved ones and all those impacted by today’s tragedy in California #SanBernadino
— Rick Santorum (@RickSantorum) December 3, 2015
Our prayers are with the victims, their families, and the first responders in San Bernardino who willingly go into harm’s way to save others
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) December 2, 2015
Praying for the victims, their families & the San Bernardino first responders in the wake of this tragic shooting.
— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) December 2, 2015
Backlash for the tweets—along with sentiments expressed by GOP politicians such asSen. Lindsey Graham and House Speaker Paul Ryan—came swiftly.
“God isn’t fixing this,” read Tuesday’s headline of the New York Daily News’ print edition. The publication gave Twitter users a sneak peek with a tweet:
An early look at tomorrow’s front page… GOD ISN’T FIXING THIS: https://t.co/eKUg5f03ec http://pic.twitter.com/j4gEFg9YtJ
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) December 3, 2015
The hashtag #ThoughtsAndPrayers trended on Twitter as celebrities, reporters and other users took to the platform to criticize the politicians’ statements:
Official GOP position: “Praying.” “God bless.” “Praying.” “Thoughts and prayers.” “Praying.” “Thoughts and prayers.” http://pic.twitter.com/OyW3fQvm4w
— Scott Bixby (@scottbix) December 2, 2015
At least 14 dead and 14 injured. But lucky for them, the GOP is offering up loads of thoughts and prayers!
— Markos Moulitsas (@markos) December 2, 2015
Your “thoughts and prayers” don’t mean a damn thing. #GunControlNOW
— billy eichner (@billyeichner) December 2, 2015
Just curious, how has the “thoughts and prayers” strategy been working so far? #SanBernadino http://pic.twitter.com/ubuKfHOzL3
— Jeremy (@DSky3) December 2, 2015
Republicans are all offering “thoughts and prayers.” What are they ‘thinking’ and 'praying’ about? #SanBernadino http://pic.twitter.com/rZaZCKNEld
— Daniel Beerthuis (@DanielBeerthuis) December 3, 2015
IT’S ALMOST AS IF THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS ARE NOT ENOUGH TO END GUN VIOLENCE.
— Dan Ozzi (@danozzi) December 2, 2015
Stop praying, start DOING. We didn’t elect you for #thoughtsandprayers. http://pic.twitter.com/2CpwDCmNtH
— Shelley DeWees (@ShelleyDeWees) December 3, 2015
Screw your useless #thoughtsandprayers , GOP. I want my family in the US to feel safe and to be safe.
— Elizabeth (@banamba) December 3, 2015
To quote @TheSamDeWitt, “It occurs to me that this strategy isn’t working.” #thoughtsandprayers #SanBernadino http://pic.twitter.com/hO92NOziq7
— Aᴀʀᴏɴ Wᴇɪss (@aweiss) December 2, 2015
I have no problem with politicians offering #ThoughtsAndPrayers for #GunViolence victims. But if that’s all they offer, they’re complicit.
— Ian Grubman (@IRGrubsy) December 3, 2015
Other countries must have fewer mass shootings because their conservative politicians offer thoughts and prayers more vigorously.
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) December 2, 2015
#ThoughtsAndPrayers are not enough. Republican inaction on daily gun violence must end. #SanBernadino #NotNormal http://pic.twitter.com/YTwv1und60
— The Baxter Bean (@TheBaxterBean) December 3, 2015
#ThoughtsAndPrayers is like saying “wow, I hope it doesn’t happen again” without doing anything to prevent it from happening again.
— Scott Friedman (@ScottRFriedman) December 2, 2015
“It’s good to think and pray,” ThinkProgress video director and contributing editor Igor Volsky told Chris Hayes on MSNBC’s “All In.” “But these folks only want to think and pray, and the NRA pays them to only think and pray about gun violence, and not to do anything else about it.”
On Monday night, Volsky spent hours on Twitter sharing the gun lobby’s donation amounts to individual politicians who had expressed condolences to the shooting’s victims. The tweets have received thousands of retweets and “likes.”
Got $3,000 from NRA during the 2014 election cycle. Unlikely to address gun problem with anything other than prayer https://t.co/lQ1CxtNnk4
— igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) December 3, 2015
Got $4,000 from NRA during the 2014 election cycle to address gun violence by “praying” https://t.co/geXCXRDHDS
— igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) December 3, 2015
Got $2,000 from NRA during 2014 cycle to keep #SanBernadino victims in his prayers and little else https://t.co/IxDGYJPhHn
— igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) December 3, 2015
Got $1,651 from NRA during the 2012 election cycle. Unlikely to address gun problem beyond “heartbreaking” tweet https://t.co/uhfsiBmegm
— igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) December 3, 2015
“I think the country is really ready for action,” Volksy told Hayes, “for actually something to be done, not just the thinking and the praying.”
Several users—including Volsky—pointed out the contrast between GOP presidential candidates’ tweets and those from Democratic presidential candidates:
Compare + contrast: http://pic.twitter.com/vWXoIHd1Uy
— George Zornick (@gzornick) December 2, 2015
Check out the difference. This not a new problem, and we need more than just thoughts and prayers to fix it. http://pic.twitter.com/IHFMeMkYvI
— dagny (@d_saf_) December 3, 2015
Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley skipped condolences and instead tweeted that action must be taken to stop gun violence:
I refuse to accept this as normal. We must take action to stop gun violence now. -H https://t.co/SkKglwQycb
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) December 2, 2015
Mass shootings are becoming an almost-everyday occurrence in this country. This sickening and senseless gun violence must stop.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) December 2, 2015
Horrifying news out of #SanBernardino. Enough is enough: it’s time to stand up to the @NRA and enact meaningful gun safety laws
— Martin O'Malley (@MartinOMalley) December 2, 2015
Though Democratic candidates avoided the backlash with their tweets, The Daily Caller pointed out that Clinton has previously offered “thoughts and prayers” through tweets and public statements following incidents including the shootings in Charleston, South Carolina, and the earthquake in Nepal.
Though no GOP candidate has yet responded to the criticism, the backlash serves as a reminder to all PR pros that statements should be accompanied by a plan for action. Otherwise, those condolences can stoke additional flames.
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