GOP politicians backed by conservative media figures are seeking to turn the tables on “thoughts and prayers” after mass shootings, arguing that dismissing prayer minimizes the importance and comfort many find in religious faith at times of tragedy and crisis.
The idea of offering “thoughts and prayers” after a mass shooting has been a point of criticism or even ridicule in some quarters as mass shootings at schools and other public places become a constant, dark part of American life.
Democrats and liberal pundits in particular have seen expressions of thoughts and prayers, particularly coming from the GOP and prominent commentators on the right, as an empty gesture when uncoupled with specific actions on gun control to prevent mass shootings.
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Those arguments were reignited this week after two children, aged 8 and 12, were killed by a lone shooter targeting a mass at a Minneapolis Catholic school on Wednesday.
Former White House press secretary and current MSNBC host Jen Psaki was in the middle of the discussion for a series of posts on the social platform X in which she said “enough with the thoughts and prayers” as she expressed frustration with another senseless shooting that left young people dead.
Psaki wrote that “prayers does not end school shootings” and “prayers do not make parents feel safe sending their kids to school.
“Prayer does not bring these kids back,” she continued. “Enough with the thoughts and prayers.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) in emotional comments shortly after the shooting also remarked on the language surrounding mass shootings.
“Don’t just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now, these kids were literally praying,” he said.
Vice President Vance and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt the next morning both criticized Psaki while defending the offering of thoughts and prayers.
“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 replied to Psaki on X.
“Why do you feel the need to attack other people for praying when kids were just killed praying?”
Leavitt, speaking from the White House podium, was sharper with her criticism, calling Psaki’s remarks “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.”
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Fox News ran a number of segments about Psaki’s remarks, a perhaps predictable move given the constant sniping between Fox and MSNBC.
But there were other signs Republicans wanted to have this discussion, particularly as more figures piled on later in the week.
“It’s incredible to me that Jen Psaki, Gavin Newsom and others would attack religion, diminish the faith of millions of Americans at a time of such great tragedy,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Friday during an appearance on Fox. “There are a lot of common-sense things that can be done to protect children at school. This is not a time to politicize these issues.”
At the same time, some figures said the debate over “thoughts and prayers” itself was being used by both sides in negative ways.
“To me this is the saddest example I’ve ever seen of how faith is used and abused in our political discourse,” said Joe Ferullo, CEO and publisher of the National Catholic Reporter. “Everybody understands that praying helps and focuses us on how to move forward. But praying is not enough.”
The frustration over thoughts and prayers is often reflective of broader frustrations with the government for not taking action on gun control. Repeated efforts in Congress have resulted in generally weak gun control measures, including after 20 elementary school children were killed in the Sandy Hook shootings in 2012 in Newton, Conn.
Police have said the suspect in Wednesday’s mass shooting obtained guns lawfully.
The suspect apparently obsessed over other mass killings and used weapons that had anti-Trump, antisemitic and other offensive language written on them.
The debate over thoughts and prayers is hardly new.
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Former President Obama, after a shooter killed more than 10 people at a community college in Oregon in 2015, said “our thoughts and prayers are not enough” when it comes to mass shootings.
“It’s not enough. It does not capture the heartache and grief and anger that we should feel,” he said at the time. “And it does nothing to prevent this carnage from being inflicted someplace else in America.”
Many Democrats contend the debate over the usefulness or appropriateness of prayer is an unhelpful distraction from what they see as the root cause of mass shootings: Ease of access to guns.
“On this, Republicans are trying to own the space of faith just like they do patriotism,” one national Democratic strategist told The Hill this week. “Scripture says faith without works is dead. The difference between us and them is we follow our thoughts and prayers up with action and they do not.”
Complicating the debate is a fundamental difference between how religious Americans and those who do not hold religious conviction view prayer, noted Michael Emerson, an expert and researcher on religion and politics at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.
“Prayer in almost every religion is at the core of one’s faith,” Emerson said. “The challenge then is do you let the divine handle whatever the issue at hand is or are you also supposed to be the hands and feet, like we hear.
“When you see someone hungry on the street, do you say, ‘I pray for you,’ or do you say ‘I pray for you’ and give them something to eat? It’s the same issue here.”
Other observers say Democrats are seizing on an opportunity to expose Republicans on a potential political vulnerability, and casting doubt on prayer is just a means to that end.
“Democrats are losing on so many fronts right now, but this is something they feel like they can win on heading into the midterms,” one national Republican strategist told The Hill.
“Everyone knows lawmakers aren’t going to take much action legislatively and that’s what they’re trying to highlight in a way, but I’m not sure attacking prayer is the smartest way to go about it.”
