White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had a drastically different tone when discussing the latest seemingly ideologically based shooting, this time near Dallas, Tex., compared to the recent massacre at a Nashville Christian school.
For the Biden administration, the actions of the trans-identified shooter who murdered 3 children and 3 adults spurred a call for gun control. The shooter's apparent anti-Christian ideology was not mentioned. However, when a Hispanic man who massacred shoppers at a mall was linked to white supremacist views, the White House used that to discuss their efforts against "hate-fueled" violence and domestic terrorism.
The trans-shooter was not a domestic terrorist, per the administration, and within days of the shooting Biden referred to trans people as the "soul of the nation." In response to the Dallas massacre, the White House claimed they were "fighting for the soul of the nation."
Jean-Pierre was asked on Monday about reports that the shooter, Mauricio Garcia, is involved in a white supremacist ideology.
"I wanted to see if the President has been briefed on the investigation in the shooting in Texas allegations or may have been tied to white supremacists or white supremacist ideology. What updates has the President received?" A reporter asked.
"Just a few things about the shooting the horrible shooting that we saw," Jean-Pierre began. "Eight Americans, including children, were killed this weekend in the latest act of gun violence to devastate our nation, several others are still fighting for their lives," she emphasized.
"The President and the First Lady are praying for the victims that are injured their families and for the broader community and Allen, Texas, and we are grateful to the first responders who acted quickly and courageously to save lives.
"We have federal state and law enforcement, local law enforcement are working closely together to investigate, continuing to investigate this attack. Over the weekend, as you all know, the President directed federal agencies to provide any additional needed support to the local community there.
"As far as the shooter, it is an ongoing investigation. And so I would certainly refer you to the federal law, federal, state and local law enforcement who are coordinating to investigate the attack.
"But broadly speaking, as it relates to the right-wing organization that he was connected to, or has been reported to be connected to, we have spoken out consistently about the concerning rise in hate-fueled violence in this country. And as you know, the President has talked about this in great length, including in discussing how we need to restore the soul of this nation.
"And so that's why the President directed the Homeland Security team on his first day in office to begin developing what became the first-ever national strategy for countering domestic terrorism. The President continues to certainly stay abreast and briefed on the situation, but certainly not going to get ahead of the investigation that's currently happening."
The reporter tried again to get a straight answer out of the White House, but none would be forthcoming.
"You heard him speak many times about the soul of the nation and the importance of fighting for the soul of the nation," Jean-Pierre said of Biden.
This response was a far cry from the response given when Jean-Pierre was asked about a recent school shooting in Nashville, carried out by Audrey Hale, in which 3 children and 3 adults were murdered. Hale, a trans-identified female, had prepared for the massacre, leaving behind a manifesto stating her reasons for going into the school where she was once a student and shooting as many people as she could.
Only days after that March massacre, Biden remarked that "transgender Americans shape our nation's soul."
As Jean-Pierre expressed the White House perspective on the Nashville shooting, she did not address domestic terrorism, or the administration's efforts to fight it, instead, she used the shooting as an opportunity to address gun control.
"While we don’t know yet all the details in this latest tragic shooting, we know that too often our schools and communities are being devastated by gun violence. Schools should be safe spaces for our kids to grow and learn and for our educators to teach," she said, before diving into actions taken to create more gun control measures.
Jean-Pierre demanded that Congress pass gun control legislation. Hale's as-yet-unreleased manifesto, however, is reportedly anti-Christian. This "hate-fueled" ideology is not among those the White House appears to be mobilizing the Department of Homeland Security to combat.
The White House has made is clear that only some "hate-fueled" ideologies are a problem, others, apparently, are not a problem at all.
