Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer, 64, cried senior moment on live TV as his attempt to attack Gov. Tim Walz blew up in his face.
In a Sunday appearance on ABC’s This Week, Emmer suggested Walz was to blame for a lack of resources to prevent more mass shootings after last week’s tragic incident at a Catholic school in Minneapolis. The shooting left two children, ages 8 and 10, dead and injured around 20 people.
Emmer used his appearance to play up calls for more school resources to help. “It’s going to be very important that the schools have the resources,” he told co-host Martha Raddatz.
Then Raddatz pointed out that Emmer, a MAGA convert, had already voted against the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. The law, which provides schools with millions of dollars to expand mental health services and safety measures, was introduced on the heels of the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in the same year.
“You talk about what can be done,” Raddatz said, “after mass shootings in Buffalo and in Uvalde, Texas, Congress passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. It provided hundreds of millions of dollars for schools to expand mental health services, enhance safety measures. You did not vote for that bill. Why?”
The moment appeared to catch Emmer off guard, so he pleaded amnesia before launching into a bumbling explanation.
“I don’t remember the reasons that I didn’t vote for that bill,” Emmer said. “I got to tell you, we did a lot for Uvalde, but you can’t replace those children, Martha, you can’t. And you can’t help that community. We’re talking about getting on the front end, Martha. We’re talking about we need to have the resources.”
Raddatz, not letting Emmer off the hook, went back to the bill. “This bill sounds like it might have done that,” she said.
Realizing Raddatz wasn’t going to let up on his voting history, Emmer turned to outrage and then attempted to blame the shooter’s inner circle for the violent attack.
“That [bill] would have identified this man’s mental health condition? That would have identified him as a danger to himself and the community before this ever happened? No, that’s the part we’ve got to identify,” said Emmer. “We’ve got to figure out why did this poor young man, who is so mentally disturbed, why when he was crying out for help in the public square, where were his friends? His family?”
The MAGAverse took a crass victory lap amid reports that the shooter, 23, was trans and attempted to connect this detail to the carnage.
