{"id":2480193,"date":"2025-08-29T06:23:02","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T10:23:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-ugly-political-divide-over-thoughts-and-prayers\/"},"modified":"2025-08-29T06:24:52","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T10:24:52","slug":"the-ugly-political-divide-over-thoughts-and-prayers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-ugly-political-divide-over-thoughts-and-prayers\/","title":{"rendered":"The ugly political divide over thoughts and prayers"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-ugly-political-divide-over-thoughts-and-prayers%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2480193&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the intense political divide in the United States over the response to mass shootings, particularly focusing on the phrase &#8220;thoughts and prayers.&#8221; Following a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-buzzfeed-employee-and-trump-hater-baked-alaska-who-endorsed-a-democrat-for-president-gets-arrested-after-storming-us-capitol\/\" title=\"Former Buzzfeed Employee And Trump-Hater \u2018Baked Alaska\u2019 \u2013 Who Endorsed A Democrat For ... \u2013 Gets Arrested After Storming US Capitol\">tragic mass shooting<\/a> at a Catholic church and school in Minneapolis, where children were killed while praying, the debate reignited about the effectiveness of prayer versus government action, especially gun control. <\/p>\n<p>Liberal Democrats, frustrated by their failure to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/public-support-for-bidens-gun-policies-dropping-in-recent-polls\/\" title=\"Public Support for Biden&#039;s Gun Policies Dropping in Recent Polls\">pass stricter gun laws<\/a>, frequently enough criticize Republicans who offer &#8220;thoughts and prayers,&#8221; seeing it as an inadequate response to gun violence. Some Democrats have even questioned the usefulness of prayer itself. Conversely, many conservatives and religious leaders defend the importance and sincerity of prayer, emphasizing it is not a replacement for action but a heartfelt response to tragedy.<\/p>\n<p>The debate also highlights a broader cultural and partisan divide over religion, with conservatives generally more religious and Democrats increasingly secular. While Democrats push for stronger gun regulations, Republicans cite issues like mental health and reject expanded gun laws. High-profile figures from both sides, including former Obama press secretary Jen Psaki and Vice President JD Vance, have voiced contrasting views on the role of prayer and government in addressing these tragedies.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, the Minneapolis shooting has intensified the ongoing culture war in the U.S.over faith, policy, and how best to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-begins-debate-on-firearms-ban\/\" title=\"House begins debate on firearms ban\">prevent future mass shootings<\/a>. <br \/> <!DOCTYPE html><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">The ugly political divide over thoughts and prayers<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2214835\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/3786430\/minneapolis-church-shooter-expressed-hate-every-group-imaginable\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">horrific mass shooting<\/a> in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/minneapolis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Minneapolis<\/a> has spawned a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/daily-memo\/3785288\/minneapolis-shooting-revives-old-gun-debate-in-new-context-of-trump-crime-push\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">heated political debate<\/a> over the power of prayer versus the power of government.<\/p>\n<p>Liberal Democrats, frustrated by their inability to enact sweeping <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/gun-control\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">gun control<\/a> measures, have long responded with hostility to conservative Republicans offering their &ldquo;thoughts and prayers&rdquo; in the wake of mass shootings, viewing it as a dodge on guns.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/3787008\/new-trial-memphis-officers-convicted-tyre-nichols-death\/\">Judge orders new trial for ex-Memphis officers convicted in Tyre Nichols beating death<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/3786495\/minnesota-senator-tina-smith-blasts-rfk-jr-mass-shootings-stop-peddling-bull\/\">Minnesota senator blasts RFK Jr. about mass shootings: &#8216;Stop peddling bull****&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/3786253\/most-people-think-crime-us-major-problem\/\">Most people think crime in US is &#8216;major&#8217; problem<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>But following the murder of children at prayer in a Catholic church and school by a shooter who may have been motivated in part by anti-Christian sentiment, some thought the anti-prayer pushback was inappropriate at best and displayed sneering contempt for religion at worst.<\/p>\n<p>Top Democrats at times appeared to be questioning the purpose or efficacy of prayer itself in their impassioned pro-gun control statements.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Prayer is not freaking enough,&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/karoline-leavitt\/https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jen-psaki\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jen Psaki<\/a>, a television personality who served as former President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Joe Biden<\/a>&rsquo;s first <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/white-house\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">White House<\/a> press secretary, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/jrpsaki\/status\/1960730977472237739\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">posted<\/a> on X. &ldquo;Prayers does not end school shootings. [P]rayers do not <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >make parents feel safe sending<\/a> their kids to school.&nbsp;Prayer does not bring these kids back. Enough with the thoughts and prayers.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;These were Minneapolis families. These were American families, and the amount of pain that they are suffering right now is extraordinary,&rdquo; Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in his emotional post-shooting speech. &ldquo;And don&rsquo;t just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now. These kids were literally praying.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>These children were literally praying as they got shot at,&rdquo; said Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), a likely candidate for his party&rsquo;s 2028 presidential nomination.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It is shocking to me that so many left-wing politicians attack the idea of prayer in response to a tragedy,&rdquo; Vice President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jd-vance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">JD Vance<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JDVance\/status\/1961044761613083022\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">responded<\/a>. &ldquo;Literally no one thinks prayer is a substitute for action. We pray because our hearts are broken and we believe that God is listening.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Why do you feel the need to attack other people for praying when kids were just killed praying?&rdquo; Vance asked Psaki on X.<\/p>\n<p>White House press secretary <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/karoline-leavitt\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Karoline Leavitt<\/a> also weighed in at Thursday&rsquo;s briefing. &ldquo;I saw the comments of my predecessor, Ms. Psaki, and frankly, I think they&rsquo;re incredibly insensitive and disrespectful to the tens of millions of Americans of faith across this country who believe in the power of prayer, who believe that prayer works,&rdquo; she told reporters. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s utterly disrespectful to deride the power of prayer in this country.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The two parties have largely sorted on the issue of gun control, as Democrats now represent fewer congressional districts with gun owners, and Republicans have blocked legislation banning the country&rsquo;s most popular firearms since the federal ban on so-called assault weapons &mdash; championed by Psaki&rsquo;s former boss Biden while he was in the Senate &mdash;&nbsp;was allowed to lapse in 2004.<\/p>\n<p>But religion has also become increasingly polarized on a partisan basis, especially among white voters. President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Donald Trump<\/a> won 72% of white Protestants and 63% of white Catholics in last year&rsquo;s election, while former Vice President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kamala-harris\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Kamala Harris<\/a> took 71% of the white voters who professed no religion.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Democrats have increasingly relied on white, secular, college-educated voters in recent years, many of whom have little familiarity or experience with traditionalist understandings of prayer. A common refrain among Christian preachers and theologians is that God is not a cosmic bellhop summoned by the button of prayer.<\/p>\n<p>But in times of tragedy, secular liberals do call upon a higher power for deliverance. They exhort the government to act on their article of faith that some new set of gun regulations, or a policy that reduces private firearms ownership or the national supply of guns more broadly, can prevent mass shootings.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The connection between the specific policy proposals and the mass casualty events in question is sometimes unclear, and Minnesota has some of the activists&rsquo; favored gun laws in place. But many argue these shootings could at least be limited in severity or more readily thwarted if it were more difficult to obtain weapons that fire off multiple shots in rapid succession or can be especially quickly reloaded.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Former President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/barack-obama\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Barack Obama<\/a> appeared to be subtly nudging Democrats away from hostility to prayer when he <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BarackObama\/status\/1960766723944014276\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">posted<\/a>, &ldquo;Michelle and I are praying for the parents who have lost a child or will be sitting at their hospital bedside after yet another act of unspeakable, unnecessary violence.&rdquo; The closest he came to calling for more gun control was when he said, &ldquo;We can&rsquo;t allow ourselves to become numb to mass shootings.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Yet Obama has been known to call for gun legislation during these events in the past and to throw sharp elbows at Republicans who disagreed, such as after the Sandy Hook shooting, while he was president.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/3784961\/what-to-know-minneapolis-annunciation-catholic-church-shooting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE MINNEAPOLIS ANNUNCIATION CATHOLIC CHURCH SHOOTING<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Democrats blame Republican fealty to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-and-pelosi-give-wrong-facts-about-assault-weapon-ban\/\" title=\"Biden and Pelosi Give Wrong &quot;Facts&quot; About Assault Weapon Ban\">powerful gun lobby<\/a> for their inability to pass federal legislation, some of which polls well, that would curb access to guns. While Republicans often counter by raising issues like mental health, &ldquo;thoughts and prayers&rdquo; has become to those who want tighter gun laws a phrase especially like waving a red cape in front of a raging bull.<\/p>\n<p>In a time of literal bloodshed, Minneapolis has become the latest front in the culture wars.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Political divide deepens over &#8220;thoughts and prayers&#8221; after Minneapolis shooting<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2659,"featured_media":2480194,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/AP25240130334593_551cbb.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[14436,46758,5894,36479,35325],"class_list":["post-2480193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-activism","tag-political-divide","tag-politics","tag-social-issues","tag-thoughts-and-prayers"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/AP25240130334593_551cbb.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2480193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2659"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2480193"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2480193\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2480197,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2480193\/revisions\/2480197"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2480194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2480193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2480193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2480193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}