After Assassination Attempt On Trump, Some Union Presidents Pivot To Gun Control
SEIU President April Verrett refers to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump as "another senseless act of gun violence."
By Peter List, Editor | July 14, 2024
That didn’t take long at all…
Shortly after the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, the heads of some of the nation’s largest unions used the shocking event on Saturday evening to call for gun control.
On Saturday evening, as former President Donald Trump was speaking at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a gunman fired shots at the former president from a nearby rooftop, wounding Trump and killing one other person in the crowd, as well as critically wounding two others.
Within an hour of the shooting, condemnation of the political attack and well wishes for Trump filled social media. Even those adamant in opposing Trump, like former President Obama, kept their messages simple.
Many union presidents, almost all of whom are opposed to Trump, have not commented on social media about the shooting. However, some, like AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, AFSCME’s Lee Saunders, and CWA’s Claude Cummings, Jr., issued statements condemning political violence.
A few, though, took the opportunity to turn the assassination attempt into a call for gun control.
Less than an hour after the assassination attempt, American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten used the event to call for “common sense gun safety measures.”
“My thoughts and prayers are with everyone injured or traumatized at the rally today, including former President Trump,” Weingarten stated. “This is horrific: political violence is never ok. Sadly, this again highlights the need for common sense gun safety measures.” [Emphasis added.]
Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association (NEA) used the assassination attempt to implore people to “do more to keep our communities safe from gun violence.”
“Political violence is never acceptable and is never justified,” the NEA president stated. “We must reject these evil acts, and we must do more to keep our communities safe from gun violence.” [Emphasis added.]
Perhaps the most ridiculous statement came from April Verett, the newly chosen president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
“What happened in Pennsylvania today to Former President Trump is deeply troubling,” stated Verrett. “Violence is never acceptable under any circumstances. My heart goes out to the families of those impacted by another senseless act of gun violence.” [Emphasis added.]
While there is undoubtedly a time to argue about gun violence, immediately following the attempted assassination of a political opponent is not one of those times.
The attempted assassination of President Donald Trump was not just a “senseless act of gun violence.” It was a focused act of political violence, and Pringle, Weingarten, and Verrett’s use of the event as a political talking point should be condemned.
Not really sure what the ‘union’ connection is here. Two unions called for less senseless gun violence, and the third called for common sense gun safety. Neither position necessarily calls for ‘gun control’. Shouldn’t we all be looking for a way to reduce the ability of people to try to assassinate a Presidential candidate? And as we head down this rabbit hole, any connection to unions becomes even more tenuous.