A post shared on X from Kamala HQ claims Ohio Sen. JD Vance called school shootings just a “fact of life” following the recent Georgia school shooting.
JD Vance responds to the deadly shooting in Georgia by saying school shootings are just “a fact of life” and attacking common sense gun safety reform pic.twitter.com/ISNRuXneg6
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) September 6, 2024
Verdict: Misleading
This quote has been taken out of context. Vance actually said “I don’t like that this is a fact of life,” before advocating for increased security measures in schools.
Fact Check:
Colt Gray, 14, was charged with four counts of murder after he fatally shot two classmates and two teachers on Wednesday at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, according to New York Post. The outlet says his home was “broken” and reported his mother has previously been arrested for domestic violence and his father allegedly purchased the gun for his son.
A post from Kamala HQ claims Vance said school shootings are just “a fact of life.” It reads, “JD Vance responds to the deadly shooting in Georgia by saying school shootings are just ‘a fact of life’ and attacking common sense gun safety reform.”
The quote has been taken out of context, which is revealed in the video Kamala HQ included. Vance said, in full, “I don’t like to admit this; I don’t like that this is a fact of life.” He then said, “We’ve got to bolster security so that if a psycho wants to walk through a front door and kill a bunch of children, they’re not able to.” (RELATED: Does This Video Show Kamala Harris Calling For X To Be Taken Down?)
The Associated Press made an X post acknowledging that it had to retract a previous post to add context to a partial quote from Vance. The updated post reads, “JD Vance says he laments that school shootings are a ‘fact of life’ and says the U.S. needs to harden security to prevent more carnage like the shooting this week that left four dead in Georgia.”
This post replaces an earlier post that was deleted to add context to the partial quote from Vance.
— The Associated Press (@AP) September 6, 2024
The original headline used to read, “JD Vance says school shootings are a ‘fact of life,’ calls for better security,” according to Fox News.
“This is yet another case of the fake news media brazenly lying about a Republican politician,” Vance spokesperson William Martin said in a comment to Fox. “Senator Vance said exactly the opposite of what the Associated Press claimed.”
Martin directed Check Your Fact to a similar comment in an email inquiry.
Kamala HQ posted a statement about the “fact of life” comment, which reads, in part, “Donald Trump and JD Vance think school shootings are a ‘fact of life’ and ‘we have to get over it.’”
It is true that former President Donald Trump said in regards to a January Iowa school shooting, “It’s just horrible, so surprising to see it here. But have to get over it, we have to move forward,” according to NBC News.
Trump War Room made a post in reply to Kamala HQ that reads, “Kamala’s interns just released a statement pushing FAKE NEWS that the Associated Press just retracted. Watch the full video and you’ll clearly see that JD Vance does not say what they claim he said. These morons do nothing but lie every single day.”
It includes the same video posted by Kamala HQ but slightly shortened. Check Your Fact reached out to spokespeople for the Harris and Trump campaigns for comment.
Update: This article has been updated to reflect that Check Your Fact received a quote from Martin with the same language.