While sitting in as host of the latest edition of ABC’s This Week, Jon Karl attempted to gotcha Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) with the Supreme Court’s recent opinion on bump stocks, leading into an exchange on crime. The exchange did not end well for Karl.
Watch part of the exchange here:
TIM SCOTT: What we need to focus on, Jon, is the violence that we’re seeing across this nation. Under Joe Biden, we’ve seen the greatest increase in violent crime in my lifetime, and so focusing on ways for us to reduce that crime means getting four more years of Donald Trump. Under Donald Trump, we actually respected law enforcement. Under Joe Biden, we’ve seen the movement to defund the police, leaving communities like the one I grew up in devastated and ravaged by a wave of violent crime that we have not seen literally in five decades.
JON KARL: Actually, senator as you probably know, the latest stats on violent crime and on the murder rate, they’re actually down this past year, but let me get back to my question about the Supreme Court’s decision.
SCOTT: Let’s take — let’s take a look — let’s take a look at those crime rates. We’ve seen over 4,000 shootings just in the city of Chicago. We’ve seen a spike in violent crime. It’s nice to see something plateau, but the fact of the matter is simple. Under Joe Biden, neighborhoods like the ones I grew up in have been ravaged —
KARL: Okay, but back to —
SCOTT: People raised like me are trapped in their houses from the time the sun goes down until it comes up again.
So much of what passes for “journalism” these days is this performative attempt at gotchaing conservatives against past statements. At issue in the majority opinion on bump stocks is whether unelected bureaucrats within the ATF have the authority to reclassify a hunk of plastic as a “machine gun”. The Court found that they do not, and this would have made for an interesting discussion on This Week. Alas, that did not happen.
Karl instead veers to the gotcha attempt, which Scott rebuffs with what a second Trump administration will focus on, including crime and the border. Karl tries to counter Scott with Biden admin talking points on crime, but gets shut down again.
The rest of the interview went down this path, whether on former President Trump’s return to Capitol Hill, tariffs, January 6th, and on the certification of the 2024 election. Jon Karl’s partisan impulses did away with any chance at a substantive discussion of the issues of the day, especially on the bump stock ruling.
Click “expand” to view the transcript of the aforementioned interview segment as aired on ABC This Week on Sunday, June 16th, 2024:
ABC THIS WEEK
6/26/24
9:04 AM
JON KARL: The Supreme Court’s decision on Friday overturning an order — an executive action by President Trump to ban bump stocks after they were used in what was and still remains the deadliest mass shooting in American history. Were you satisfied with that? Any concerns about that decision?
TIM SCOTT: You know, Jon, it’s simply this: We trust and believe and respect the decision of the Supreme Court. What we need to focus on, Jon, is the violence that we’re seeing across this nation. Under Joe Biden, we’ve seen the greatest increase in violent crime in my lifetime, and so focusing on ways for us to reduce that crime means getting four more years of Donald Trump. Under Donald Trump, we actually respected law enforcement. Under Joe Biden, we’ve seen the movement to defund the police, leaving communities like the one I grew up in devastated and ravaged by a wave of violent crime that we have not seen literally in five decades.
KARL: Actually, senator as you probably know, the latest stats on violent crime and on the murder rate, they’re actually down this past year, but let me get back to my question about the Supreme Court’s decision.
SCOTT: Let’s take — let’s take a look — let’s take a look at those crime rates. We’ve seen over 4,000 shootings just in the city of Chicago. We’ve seen a spike in violent crime. It’s nice to see something plateau, but the fact of the matter is simple. Under Joe Biden, neighborhoods like the ones I grew up in have been ravaged —
KARL: Okay, but back to —
SCOTT: People raised like me are trapped in their houses from the time the sun goes down until it comes up again.
KARL: So to my question, though, on bump stocks- would you now favor a Congress acting to ban bump stocks? You had said after that shooting in Las Vegas that if the vote came up, it would sail through Congress. So are you in favor of that ban right now?
SCOTT: Well, I’m strongly in support of the Second Amendment, but what we’re going to do in the party —
KARL: I asked about the ban on bump stocks, not the Second Amendment.
SCOTT: We’re going to focus on the priorities of the American people, and what the priorities of the American people are today is to focus on closing our southern border. Under Donald Trump, we had a precipitous drop in illegal border crossings. Under Donald Trump — under Joe Biden, we’ve seen an explosion, 10 million illegal immigrants have invaded our country leading to migrant crime that we just saw — just yesterday. The mother of five killed by an illegal immigrant. So what the focus will be is on the safety of the American people. That starts with focusing on our southern border.