MSNBC host Michael Steele on August 27, 2025

Former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele strongly criticized on Wednesday what he described as inaction regarding gun violence in the United States. During a segment on MSNBC, Steele decried the Minneapolis, Minnesota school shooting Wednesday morning, which claimed the lives of two children and injured at least 17 others.

“The 'thoughts and prayers,' I’m so beyond, so beyond that nonsense — the lie of that — because what we have are people who continue to stand in the way of actually doing something to stop the violence against their own kids. It is amazing to me. We watch young kids die in classrooms and now in church, and all we get are thoughts and prayers,” Steele said to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) prior to his interview with her.

Omar appeared during the segment to discuss the tragedy that impacted her constituents. Steele told Omar: “Your leadership right now is important, in this moment, not just because of what you can say or do legislatively, but having that presence there to show that, as an elected official, you are on the ground with your folks and you appreciate this journey.”

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In her remarks on the show, Omar said, "The most tragic, as a mother and as a member of this community, is the fact that these two angels were doing one of the most innocent things we want our kids to do, which is to sit in prayer, and they were assassinated by an assailant who did get access to a deadly weapon that has now shattered the lives of two [children], will forever impact the lives of seventeen others, and will forever have a lasting impact not just on our entire community but the Catholic community within Minneapolis."

She continued: "This is the first time they have felt targeted, and it is important for us to remember that these tragedies can be avoided."

The Minnesota Democrat said her state has strong gun laws, but that is not enough. "In Minnesota, we have strong gun laws, but Indiana is not that far away from us. We have to recognize, as people who live in the United States — communities like Minneapolis or just the state of Minnesota — taking action does not prevent our neighbor from coming and harming one of our community members," Omar said.

"So we have to collectively think of ourselves as people who collectively reside in this country, who are impacted by the decisions, or the lack of decisions, or decisions that are made in different states, because we are in one country," she added.

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