Fox News host Trey Gowdy’s call to “track the access to the firearms” after a mass shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school was quickly challenged by his co-host and sparked instant backlash in MAGA corners online.
Gowdy argued that it was time to have “a conversation of freedom versus protecting children,” after a gunman, armed with a rifle, shotgun, and handgun, killed two kids, ages 8 and 10, during a morning Mass on Wednesday.
“Our system is reactive. Something bad happens, we react to it,” the former Republican congressman said on Outnumbered. “And what people are crying for now is how can we prevent this? How can we stop it?”
“The only way to stop it is to identify the shooter ahead of time or keep the weapons out of their hands.”
Gowdy wondered how many school shootings it would take to spark “a conversation about keeping firearms out,” before pointing out that they are “usually” carried out by “young white males.”
That’s when Outnumbered host Lisa Boothe pushed back.
“But do we not already have laws on the books for these types of situations?”
“Like what?” replied Gowdy, who represented South Carolina in Congress from 2011 to 2019, and now hosts Sunday Night In America.
“Well—murder is what happened. And maybe the why is that you had a 10-year-old and an 8-year old praying in the pews. Were they targeted for their faith?” Boothe said, before redirecting the conversation back to the victims and the community’s response to the shooting, which injured 14 children and 3 adults.
The shooter, who took their own life after the shooting, has been identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, according to police. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the shooter’s three weapons had been lawfully purchased, The New York Times reported.
Gowdy’s case for gun control ignited a firestorm in MAGA corners online.
“WTF? Fox News’ Trey Gowdy suggests GUN CONTROL after today’s tragedy in Minneapolis,” right-wing commentator Eric Daugherty wrote on X, adding, “Shameful.”
“I’m ashamed that I used to like him,” a self-proclaimed MAGA patriot commented. “He certainly showed his true colors and I don’t like those colors.”
“Here’s Trey Gowdy never missing an opportunity to show the world he’s a piece of garbage,” one X user wrote in a separate post.
“Fox News is not conservative. And neither is Trey Gowdy,” a commenter argued, while another wrote, “Fire him now!”
Gowdy, whose new book received high praise from President Donald Trump on Tuesday, previously voiced support for banning devices that convert a semi-automatic weapon to a fully automatic while serving in Congress in 2018.
Fox News did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast’s request for comment.
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