Donald Trump's running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, once again found himself under fire on social media, this time over his comments that school shootings are a “fact of life."
“If these psychos are going to go after our kids we’ve got to be prepared for it,” Vance told rally-goers Thursday in Phoenix, according to The Associated Press. “We don’t have to like the reality that we live in, but it is the reality we live in. We’ve got to deal with it.”
When he was asked by a journalist what could prevent school shootings, the Republican vice presidential nominee said stricter gun laws won't help, but praised Congressional efforts to boost security in schools.
“I don’t like that this is a fact of life,” Vance said. “But if you are a psycho and you want to make headlines, you realize that our schools are soft targets. And we have got to bolster security at our schools. We’ve got to bolster security so if a psycho wants to walk through the front door and kill a bunch of children they’re not able.”
Vance's comments came after a 14-year-old gunman killed two classmates and two teachers at a Georgia high school on Wednesday. Nine others were hospitalized with gunshot wounds.
He and his father face murder charges in the mass shooting.
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The comment immediately drew derision and mockery on social media.
"School shootings are a fact of American life, they are not a fact of British life or French life or Canadian life or Norwegian life ….," wrote journalist Molly Jong-Fast on X.
She added: "School shootings are not a fact, and Australian life, and New Zealand life in Irish life…."
"Get ready to hear this quote repeated, again and again," wrote Christopher Cadelago, Politico's California bureau chief.
"So maybe Trump doesn’t regret picking JD after all," quipped Democratic strategist Joe Trippi.
"@jdvance is a slug in a human suit," chided podcaster Reed Galen.
"I mean this with every ounce of respect that you deserve, @JDVance, F--- ALL THE WAY OFF," wrote Dr. Annie Andrews CEO & founder of Their Future PAC.
Betsey Stevenson, a former member of President Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers & chief economist of the U.S. Department of Labor, pushed back at Vance's claim.
"They are not a fact of life. They do not happen in any other country but the United States," she said. "If they are a 'fact of life' for J.D. Vance that tells you everything you need to know about what he really thinks about supporting kids and families."
