Cotton Blasts Harris, Vance Over School Shootings

Tom Cotton accused Kamala Harris of wanting to make schools less safe in a tense CNN interview on Sunday.

Cotton's appearance on the show was prompted by the tragic shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia, where two teachers and two students were killed last week. Bash questioned Cotton about an Associated Press headline that quoted Vance as saying school shootings were a "fact of life."

However, Vance's team and online critics quickly denounced the headline as misleading, arguing that it took his words out of context. In reality, Vance had stated that he does not like the fact that school shootings have become so common and called for increased school security.

Cotton Blasts Harris, Vance Over School Shootings

Cotton echoed these sentiments, declaring that neither he nor Vance accepts school shootings as an inevitable part of life. He then pivoted to criticize Harris for her previous support of removing police officers from schools.

Cotton cited a 2019 video of Harris advocating for the "demilitarization" of schools by eliminating police presence. He argued that such a move would have made the Apalachee High School shooting even more devastating.

Cotton Blasts Harris, Vance Over School Shootings

"If that police officer hadn't been there, if Kamala Harris had gotten her way, many more students and teachers might have been killed," Cotton said.

Harris' comments drew swift condemnation from families of school-shooting victims, including Ryan Petty and Andrew Pollack, whose daughters were killed in the 2018 Parkland school shooting.

Cotton Blasts Harris, Vance Over School Shootings

"Wreckless. Radical. Kamala wants to make schools less safe. Your kids aren't safe with Kamala Harris in office," tweeted Petty, whose 14-year-old daughter Alaina was killed in the Parkland massacre.

Pollack, whose 18-year-old daughter Meadow was also killed in the Parkland shooting, wrote, "This is sickening. My daughter was killed because Parkland didn't have enough security. We need more school resource officers — not fewer!"

Cotton Blasts Harris, Vance Over School Shootings

In the aftermath of the Apalachee High School shooting, Harris issued a statement expressing condolences to the victims and calling for action against gun violence. However, it remains unclear whether she still supports the removal of police officers from schools. Her campaign has not responded to requests for comment on the matter.

Cotton's remarks on CNN sparked a heated debate on social media, with some viewers agreeing with his criticism of Harris and others accusing him of using the tragedy for political gain.

The interview highlights the ongoing national dialogue on gun violence and the differing perspectives on how to address it.