Ron DeSantis’s Train Wreck Response to Question About Gun Deaths Gets Worse by the Second

Whether you’re a sentient being or an Easy-Bake Oven that hasn’t worked since 1995, you likely know that most Republicans are steadfast in their resolution to do nothing about mass shootings in America—and that when they open their mouths to comment on the issue, all manner of bullshit flies out. For instance, last week, in response to the recent Maine massacre that left 18 people dead, new Speaker Mike Johnson—who once blamed school shootings on abortion and the teaching of evolution—declared “the problem is the human heart, it’s not guns.” And on Sunday, Florida governor and 2024 presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis had equally absurd—and somehow more cringeworthy—things to say about the matter.

In an interview with Meet the Press, DeSantis initially tried to argue that there is no need for red flag laws—as those in his party are apparently contractually obligated to do—despite the fact that Maine officials, according to host Kristen Welker, have said that such laws could have prevented the suspect Robert Card from obtaining guns before the attack. “Well, yeah, I don’t think you would even need a red flag,” DeSantis told Welker, claiming that if someone is institutionalized, it will show up in a background check. Informed Maine doesn’t have strong background checks, DeSantis, well…he didn’t really have a response to that. And asked if he was supporting strengthening background checks, he simply said, “no,” and then insisted the suspect just needed to be committed to a mental health facility. When DeSantis was reminded that law enforcement received a warning about Card in mid-September—and could not locate him—the governor…did not have an answer for that, either.

“When you have an involuntary commitment, that triggers things to go into a background check system,” DeSantis told Welker, doubling down and ignoring basically all of the facts. “So, that should have been enough if that information was put into it. So that’s what I would do. I would focus on those individuals who’ve actually gone and either been involuntary committed, been adjudicated to be mentally ill. That’s really the approach that matters. I think you can look, you know, in Florida, our crime rate’s at a 50-year low, and our violent crime rate’s down 30% since I’ve been governor. So, we’re handling it strong.”

At this point, Welker interjected to point out that, actually, Florida is not “handling it strong,” noting that, “statistically speaking, the CDC says that the firearm mortality rate is actually higher under your administration than it was under your predecessor’s administration.”

“—the what mortality rate?” DeSantis responded looking like a full-on deer in the headlights. “No, no.”

“The firearm mortality rate,” Welker repeated, slowly emphasizing the words.

“Well, right, well, because you had COVID and all that stuff,” DeSantis said, in a train wreck of an answer that got exponentially worse with each passing word. “Excess mortality, is that what you’re saying? That went up everywhere in the country from 2020 on. Our excess mortality went up less than anybody.” No, excess mortality was not, in fact, what Welker was saying.

“The firearm mortality,” she said again, apparently hoping in vain that repeating the words once more would help them penetrate the governor’s brain. Unfortunately for him, and Floridians writ large, they did not.