Jason Chaffetz Can’t Think of a ‘Single Thing That Would Have Prevented’ Vegas Shooting

Former Congressman Jason Chaffetz appeared on Fox News Tuesday to give his thoughts on the Las Vegas mass shooting, and the network contributor boldly declared that nothing could have been done to stop the massacre.

“Is there anything, in your mind, that could have been done to prevent that thing from happening?” asked Fox News’s Sandra Smith.

“I don’t know of a single thing that would have prevented this evil that possessed this person and to do this atrocity,” Chaffetz replied, before apparently proposing that the only way to thwart such attacks is time travel: “I wish there was something that I could do to go back in time and just make sure that it never happened.”

It is a curious talking point that has been emanating from the Fox News airwaves since Sunday’s attack, which, to reiterate, was carried out by a shooter with an arsenal of military-grade weaponry he used to rain bullets into a crowd of thousands, killing 59 people and wounding more than 500 more.

The argument follows that no matter how horrific, extensive and premeditated the massacre was, there is simply nothing that could have been done to avoid it, and now all we can do is pray and mourn the lives lost.

Tellingly, Chaffetz then echoed the White House line that now is not the time to talk about the politics of this attack, declaring “It is just not the time to dive into the politics and try to score political points on this topic, it is just not.”

“It does seem like the gun debate is already raging here, and it happened fast,” Smith added.

Later in the interview, Chaffetz did say that “background checks will become an issue,” and that he thinks “there is something we can do on the mental health front.”

But! Before you think that’s a sign Chaffetz is in favor of taking action, a splash of cold water: “But again, I think it’s too early to do that,” he said next. “And it wouldn’t necessarily have prevented what tragically happened in Las Vegas.”

[image via screengrab]

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