‘Morning Joe’ Rips ‘Bulls**t Excuses’ of GOP Failing to Act After Shootings
In the wake of a deadly church attack, Joe Scarborough asked why this sort of tragedy “keeps happening” in the U.S.
Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough lashed out at “bulls--t excuses” in a tirade against Republican lawmakers for failing to “act” in the wake of mass shootings.
Scarborough, a former Florida GOP congressman, made the remarks following an attack at a Catholic church in Minneapolis, which left two children dead and 17 injured.
“We have laws that are on the books that continue to allow crackpots to go into gun stores, get high-powered rifles, and go and shoot up schools, go shoot up churches, go shoot up country music concerts, and it seems to me that Washington is far too comfortable letting that happen,” Scarborough said Thursday.

A parent seen desperately running towards Annunciation Church in Minneapolis soon after the shooting broke out on Wednesday.
Richard Tsong-Taatarii/The Star Tribune via Getty Images
“And all the bulls--t excuses and all the bulls--t calls for this, that, or the other,” Scarborough said. “The kids were hoping and praying. So hope, pray, and act—but Republicans won’t do that third part in Congress.”
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The gunman in the Minneapolis shooting, identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, opened fire through a window at the Annunciation Church, where children were attending a Mass service during their first week of school, using a rifle, shotgun, and a pistol. Westman, who died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, had lawfully purchased the firearms, authorities said.
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Morning Joe played a heartbreaking interview with 10-year-old Weston Halsne, who described how his friend “laid on top of me” to protect him from the gunman, taking a bullet in the process.
After playing the clip, Scarborough condemned how “obscene” it is that a 10-year-old boy was speaking “very matter-of-factly” about how he survived a mass shooting and that he had practiced active shooter drills.
“I mean, before he goes, ‘Yeah, we practiced in school, but not in church.’ And this is normal? No, there’s nothing normal about this,” Scarborough said.

The gunman opened fire while the students were in the first Mass of the school year at the Annunciation Catholic Church.
Renee Jones Schneider/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images
The host also lamented that this sort of tragedy “keeps happening” in the U.S. while once again criticizing lawmakers who refuse to act.
“How many mass shootings do we have? It keeps happening, where crackpots get a hold of a gun, and they have more power in their hands than police officers do outside,” Scarborough said. “Is that really what they want?”
This is the second time this week that a passionate Scarborough has sworn on-air during his morning broadcasts.
On Tuesday, Scarborough said that Trump’s “wins” with his constant attacks against potential Democratic 2028 candidates such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker show that “people are p----d off on the other side.”
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