Hours after the shooting at Charlie Kirk’s event, Jen Psaki did what she always does: turn to a Democrat to define the narrative. This time it was Senator Mark Kelly.
Before the moment captured in this clip, Psaki rattled off her usual list of political violence examples—Gretchen Whitmer, Paul Pelosi, Jan. 6—then framed the question by pointing blame at Republicans:
“And obviously, there’s a lot of rhetoric that is problematic. A lot of it is coming from one particular side and from one particular building.”
That was Psaki’s coded way of saying the problem is Republicans in Congress—specifically the House of Representatives inside the U.S. Capitol. She wasn’t subtle; the message was clear: blame the GOP.
Then she handed Kelly the microphone. Kelly tried to sound even-handed, saying he’s “seen Democrats in the Senate say things where I thought were over a line. I’ve seen Republicans do the same thing. Perpetuating this kind of thing is just not helpful.”
But notice what’s missing: while he points fingers at others for saying regretful things, he never once admits to saying anything wrong himself. Everyone else is guilty—never him.
From there, Kelly slid right into the party line on guns:
“We’ve got to see the shooter’s motivation, we’ve got to see where they got the firearm. But one thing we do know is we’ve got very easy access to firearms, and we have a lot of people get shot. I think that’s indisputable. And we do also know where there’s stronger gun laws, there’s less gun violence.”
No pushback, no challenge—just Psaki letting a Democrat set the terms of the debate.
But the reality doesn’t match the script. Cities like Chicago, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia have some of the strictest gun laws in the country—yet they remain among the worst for shootings. Chicago in particular racks up staggering numbers of shootings year after year. These places are drowning in gun violence despite layers of restrictions and stronger gun laws.
Meanwhile, cities like St. Louis, New Orleans, Detroit, Memphis, and Birmingham are all Democrat-run and plagued by gun crime. Los Angeles and New York City also have strict gun laws, yet gun violence remains a constant problem.
What we do know is this: Mark Kelly can repeat Democrat talking points, but he can’t explain why cities with the strictest gun laws still lead the nation in shootings. And why the cities with the highest gun crime are all run by Democrats.
The Cities With the Highest Gun Crime
Chicago, IL – Mayor Brandon Johnson (D)
Baltimore, MD – Mayor Brandon Scott (D)
Washington, D.C. – Mayor Muriel Bowser (D)
Philadelphia, PA – Mayor Cherelle Parker (D)
New York City, NY – Mayor Eric Adams (D)
Los Angeles, CA – Mayor Karen Bass (D)
St. Louis, MO – Mayor Cara Spencer (D)
New Orleans, LA – Mayor LaToya Cantrell (D)
Detroit, MI – Mayor Mike Duggan (Independent, longtime Democrat)
Memphis, TN – Mayor Paul Young (Nonpartisan, Democrat-aligned)
Birmingham, AL – Mayor Randall Woodfin (D)
The pattern is undeniable: America’s worst gun-crime cities—whether under strict gun laws or looser ones—are overwhelmingly run by Democrats.