Parkland Father Fred Guttenberg Erupts on MSNBC Over Texas Massacre: ‘They F*cking Failed Our Kids Again’
Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter was killed during the Parkland school shooting in 2018, spoke with Nicolle Wallace in the aftermath of Monday’s deadly elementary school shooting in Texas and pulled no punches in laying into politicians unwilling to find a solution.
Nineteen children and two adults were shot dead at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday.
Wallace asked Guttenberg “if there’s anything that you can share about how you got through this and what these families are going through today, I just wanted to hear you talk.”
“First, Nicolle, you’re going to make me cry,” he responded.
“And to my friend, Senator Murphy, thank you,” he went on referencing Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) who gave an impassioned speech on the Senate floor calling for new laws to stop mass shootings.
“Because there are people in this country who want to do something about this. Unfortunately, they all currently live in one political party. And Senator Murphy’s been fighting this fight for a long time,” he added.
“You’re in Texas right now, where the shooting happened in Texas, the senators there are not like Senator Murphy. The governor there, he’s not like Senator Murphy. That lieutenant governor, he’s not like Senator Murphy. In fact those — I’m trying hard not to curse, Nicolle. But I’m shaking. But I’d like to tell them all to go F-off because what they did, what they do, the way they politicize guns and violence led us to this day where — and I don’t know what the latest number is. I think we have 14 dead,” he continued.
“Parents, loved ones, who their world is spinning. Who right now have to think, how am I going to plan a funeral? Who right now have to think, what kind of casket? Who right now have to think, all I did was send them to school. And I have to plan their funeral. And I have to write a eulogy,” he continued, getting emotional.
“I have to comfort those who I love. My other children, my spouse, my friends, my neighbors. I have to figure out how to go forward. I’ll be honest, Nicolle, it took me a good solid 24 hours before my world stopped spinning to the point where I really kind of grasped what was happening. I am simply going to say this to the families there,” he continued.
“You’re going to go through pain,” he said.
“It’s not right. And it shouldn’t be. But I am here for you. And others will be here for you. You will be okay. You will find a path forward,” he went on.
“But for the next bunch of days and weeks, you have to get through this. This horror. Because people failed. I am done,” he said as Wallace sniffled.
“They fucking failed our kids again, okay? I’m done. I’ve had it. You know, how many more times?” He asked.
“And we’re going to sit back — I’m going to listen to that governor of Texas talk about why he pushed to fight laws and for laws in Texas that made it easier for the guns to be had by those who want to kill. How many more times? I don’t — I mean, I’m sorry. I’m speechless. I don’t know what to say. But you know what? Tomorrow, I’m going to wake up, we’re going to keep fighting,” he continued.
“And so, I am begging Senator Cruz. I sat with you in your office two years or so ago. I listened to your nonsense. I listened to your B.S. I listened to you explain to me why you thought we didn’t need the bare minimum of effective background checks. March into Senator Murphy’s office right now, tonight, and you be the Republican who says, I’ve had enough. Because if you don’t, get your ass out of office. You don’t belong there. I’m sorry,” he concluded.
Watch the full clip, via MSNBC
