On Thursday's Velshi and Ruhle on MSNBC, as the entire show was devoted to the school shootings in Florida, host Stephanie Ruhle repeatedly mocked opponents of gun control as she listed nine prominent Republicans on screen who have tweeted condolences for the victims with the MSNBC host noting how much money the NRA has spent supporting each of them.
She went on to declare that a hunter who needs an AR-15 to hit a target must be a "lousy loser" and then seemed to make a veiled hint that those who resist new gun laws are "jerks."
At 11:39 a.m. ET, Ruhle spent two minutes and 48 seconds informing viewers of nine Republicans -- mostly Senators, but also including President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence -- who have benefited from NRA financial support. When she got to Pence, she made a point of noting that he "enacted a number of laws as governor of Indiana, including legislation allowing firearms to be kept in vehicles on school property," as if there were something wrong with that.
Wrapping up that portion of the show, she lamented: "The thoughts and prayers are with the victims -- the dollars and sense are another story."
She soon recalled that Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan had advised against Congress making a "knee-jerk" reaction to the Florida shootings. She then mocked Speaker Ryan and made a veiled reference to "jerks" as she snarked: "So 'knee-jerk,' I don't really know the definition of. I know what 'jerks' are. 'Knee-jerk,' I guess I'm unclear."
A bit later, she brought aboard MSNBC contributor Malcolm Nance and asked him about the AR-15 type of rifle that was used in the attack. The MSNBC host mocked hunters who use the AR-15 as she posed: "Can you walk me through exactly what an AR-15 is? Because for gun enthusiasts out there -- for hunting superstars, you must be some kind of lousy loser hunter if you need an AR-15 to get your target."
