After JD Vance called gun violence a “fact of life,” DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement: 

“Let’s be clear: no matter what Donald Trump and JD Vance say, tragedies like this do not need to be a ‘fact of life,’ and we don’t just have to ‘get over it’ when Americans, including young children, are violently murdered. But there’s another choice: Vice President Harris and Governor Walz are ready to stand up to the gun lobby to protect our communities. Trump and Vance have railed against commonsense reforms and federal bipartisan gun safety legislation that would protect innocent lives. As Trump and Vance put the gun lobby ahead of the American people, voters are ready to reject their dangerous and out-of-touch agenda in November.”

NEW: JD Vance called school shootings just a “fact of life” today after horrific gun violence.

Associated Press: “School shootings are a ‘fact of life,’ so the U.S. needs to harden security to prevent more carnage like the shooting this week that left four dead in Georgia, Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance said Thursday.”

Donald Trump has no shame — he told school shooting victims to “get over it,” touts his close ties to the NRA, and continues to bend to the gun lobby’s will at every turn.

Rolling Stone: “Trump on Iowa School Shooting: ‘Get Over It’”

“A day after a gunman killed a sixth grade student and wounded five other people at Perry High School northwest of Des Moines, Donald Trump returned to the state at a campaign event and told residents that they ‘have to get over it.’”

Trump: “There’s no bigger fan of the NRA [than me].”

NBC News: “Trump says mass shootings are not ‘a gun problem’ as 2024 GOP hopefuls pledge loyalty to the NRA”

New York Magazine: “After Taunting Republicans for Being Afraid of NRA, Trump Gives In to NRA”

Washington Post: “After latest shooting, Trump pushes Facebook ads ‘straight from the NRA playbook’”

Politico: “Former President Donald Trump on Friday addressed the National Rifle Association’s annual conference in Houston … just three days after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at a Texas elementary school.”

CNN: “A slew of 2024 GOP presidential hopefuls courted gun rights activists Friday at a National Rifle Association convention in Indianapolis that took place in the wake of mass shootings in Kentucky and Tennessee in recent days. Former President Donald Trump … attended the gathering.”

The NRA has spent tens of millions to support Trump’s campaigns — and Trump in turn has vowed to not go “up against them.”

Yahoo News: “The gun-rights group spent $54 million during the 2016 election cycle, including $30 million to help Donald Trump get elected president.”

Fortune: “For instance, in 2020, the NRA alone spent over $12 million campaigning against Biden and another $4.5 million in favor of Donald Trump.”

Trump: “I don’t think I’ll be going up against them. I really think the NRA wants to do what’s right.”

New York Times: “At the N.R.A.’s annual convention in 2017, Mr. Trump assured the group’s members, ‘You came through for me, and I am going to come through for you.’”

Vance counted gun violence among “fake problems,” and called efforts to address it “a huge distraction” – and he opposes commonsense gun safety reforms like expanded background checks and red flag laws while cozying up to the NRA.

NRA: “NRA Applauds President Trump’s Selection of Senator J.D. Vance as His Running Mate”

Washington Post: “The National Rifle Association praised Vance’s record on gun rights. Vance has rejected calls for tougher gun laws and dismissed a Democrat-led effort to ban bump stocks, which allow semiautomatic rifles to fire hundreds of bullets per minute, as ‘a huge distraction.’ In 2022, Vance said he favored abolishing the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which enforces federal gun laws.”

The Hill: “‘I think it’s a huge distraction,’ said Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), who is believed to be on Trump’s shortlist to be his running mate. ‘This is week three of Chuck Schumer focusing on fake problems instead of real problems.’”

NBC News: “‘I think that we have to ask ourselves: What is the real gun violence problem in this country, and are we legislating in a way that solves fake problems? Or solves real problems?’ Vance told reporters…

“Vance also said he was concerned the bill could ‘end up just inhibiting the rights of law-abiding Americans.’ Pressed about the 58 people who were killed in a mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017, he said: ‘The question is: How many people would have been shot alternatively? And you have to ask yourself the question: Will anyone actually not choose a bump stock because Chuck Schumer passes a piece of legislation?’”

The Guardian: “JD Vance ‘disrespecting the dead’ with bump stock remarks, Nevada senator says”

Vanity Fair: “Vance has come out against gun reform and blasted a Democratic effort to ban bump stocks. The NRA has praised Trump’s decision to make Vance his running mate.”

Vance: ‘The background check system is not the problem … the idea that expanded background checks is going to solve that problem is unfortunately not true.”

Vance: “None of these [commonsense gun safety reforms] would improve the gun violence problem in this country. All of them satisfy the urge to ‘do something’ without actually doing anything useful, at great cost to the rights of people who follow the law. Let’s take just one example, ‘red flag’ laws.”

2022: Vance was endorsed by the NRA.