A ‘national tragedy,’ 11 years later

Dec 14, 2023

By Myah Ward, Lauren Egan and Benjamin Johansen

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President JOE BIDEN called it the day the “soul of the nation” was “pierced forever.”

The massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School 11 years ago today left 20 kids and six educators dead. Those first-graders would be high school seniors this year.

“We should not have to live like this,” Biden said in a statement this morning. “It is a national tragedy that over a decade later our nation’s gun violence epidemic is still not solved.”

West Wing Playbook called MARK BARDEN, who lost his 7-year-old son, Daniel. Barden, the co-founder and CEO of the Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund, talked about how he’s processed the loss, and how he measures progress on gun violence. This conversation has been edited for length.

It’s so hard to believe that it’s been 11 years. What has that passage of time been like for you as a parent?

This level of trauma has knocked time out of whack for me.

Sometimes it feels like a lifetime ago, literally, and other times it feels like I’m still wrestling with the notion that Daniel is actually gone.

I’ve thought a lot about what Rob Wilcox, the deputy director of the White House gun policy office, said to me a couple of weeks ago — that the trauma lasts longer than a news cycle.

Trauma is pervasive. It has deeply impacted my family. It’s not just something you get over. When people say, I’m so sorry that you went through that — we’re still going through this. We will always be going through this.

You’ve had a relationship with Biden over the years, connecting over your grief.

That history began literally the first days after the tragedy. We spoke for hours on the phone in our first conversation, and that relationship has just developed. I love the moment where my little daughter Natalie was interviewing him for a segment for NowThis, and he began his conversation with Natalie by saying, “Well, first of all, full disclosure, I’m friends with her dad.”

How do you measure progress since you lost your son?

There are so many wonderful organizations in the aftermath of the tragedy, not only Sandy Hook Promise but Moms Demand Action and Everytown — and Brady reinvented themselves — and Giffords. And many more, all of whom have played a vital role in bringing public awareness to the simple fact that gun violence is not inevitable. It is preventable. It is now much more a part of the public narrative of this country.

I believe that we can get past this and bring that pendulum back and bring down the numbers of people who are unnecessarily dying by gun violence every day in this country. But right now, the fact remains that it’s the number one killer of young people under 19.

Congress passed gun legislation last year. But what would you say to people who feel it isn’t working?

As with any piece of legislation, it’s only as good as the resources that are applied with it and the education and awareness that go with it. I think they have been implementing it intentionally with all of those resources. It can take time to see the effects of it.

Policy at the local, state and federal level are necessary parts of this equation, but they’re not the only ones.

Where does the fight go next?

I don’t like to think about it in terms of a fight. It’s a challenge, but it’s about awareness and education. I like to spin it in a positive connotation because there’s so much good. There are so many ways to tackle this that are positive, that don’t infringe on peoples’ rights.

Beyond education, is there a policy you believe people can agree on, regardless of politics?

There’s a few names for this policy, but extreme risk protection orders. Some folks call it “red flag.” We like to call it “crisis aversion” and “rights retention,” because it calls out what it does and what it doesn’t do. But I think it would be a great policy at the federal level. We’ve seen it work.

We’re also still working on universal background checks. We’re still working on closing the loophole with the federal background check system — that has to happen.

As we get further away from 2012, why would you say it’s important to not let this day fade?

I share pictures of Daniel at every opportunity. And sometimes I can’t, but I love to share stories about Daniel. It’s so important to personify this. It’s so important for people to understand what is at stake and what we are losing. It’s not just numbers and statistics and data. It’s real people, and real families are devastated. And real communities are devastated.

Daniel was an incredible force of sweetness and compassion that he was going to share with the world. It was taken away from him, and people need to know that.

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POTUS PUZZLER

Which award-winning singer and actress gave President BILL CLINTON debate advice in 1996 against Republican nominee BOB DOLE?

(Answer at bottom.)

The Oval

A QUICK VISIT UP THE ROAD: Biden on Thursday visited the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., to tout the measures to cap prescription drug costs under the Inflation Reduction Act. “It’s about giving folks just a little more breathing room,” Biden said. “With this law, we finally beat big pharma and we got it done with no help from the other team at all."

At the end of his speech, Biden was asked by a reporter whether he wants Israel to scale down its fighting. “I want them to be focused on how to save civilian lives, not stop going after Hamas, but be more careful,” he said.

SOMEONE PLEASE GET THE MAN A CHEESEHEAD: Biden will travel to Milwaukee next week to highlight his economic agenda and the small business growth within Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s LAWRENCE ANDREA reports. The trip will be the president’s third visit to Wisconsin this year as he attempts to convince voters in the battleground state that his administration’s economic vision is working.

WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO WATCH: Any clip of Republican lawmakers struggling to explain what crimes they are investigating in the Biden impeachment inquiry. IAN SAMS, White House spokesperson for oversight and investigations, has been churning out a steady stream of cable news clips on his X feed.

He shared this one, for example, of Texas GOP Rep. TONY GONZALES. When asked by CNN whether there’s evidence that Biden acted corruptly to benefit his son, Gonzales responds: “I don’t dive into that piece of it too much. That’s not what, what, um, what, I guess, gets me going on it.”

WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This piece by our EUGENE DANIELS and HOLLY OTTERBEIN about how behind closed doors, Vice President KAMALA HARRIS is pushing the White House to show more sympathy for Palestinans and the humanitarian crises they face in Gaza. According to administration officials close to Harris, the vice president has argued that it’s time to be “tougher” on Israeli Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU.

As Daniels and Otterbein write, the dynamic highlights the tightrope Democrats are walking in the Israel-Hamas war as they have to balance differing viewpoints within their coalition on how to handle the conflict.

INTERNAL DISSENT, CONTINUED: More than three dozen administration staffers and political appointees held a vigil Wednesday evening outside the White House, calling on the president to support a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, CNN’s CAMILA DECHALUS reports. The participants wore sunglasses and masks to conceal their identities.

“We demand President Biden and members of the Cabinet to speak up: Call for a permanent ceasefire, a release of all hostages and an immediate de-escalation now,” said former State Department official JOSH PAUL, who resigned from his job in October over the White House’s response to the crisis.

BECAUSE IT'S WARMER THAN DC IN FEBRUARY: Biden and Harris are planning a campaign swing through South Carolina ahead of the state’s Feb. 3 Democratic primary, ABC’s GABRIELLA ABDUL-HAKIM reports.

A message from Keep the Promise Coalition:

President Biden, keep your promise to Native Tribes! Secretary Haaland is considering a decision that would pit some of our country’s most marginalized communities against each other and irreparably deprive several Tribes of significant revenues. A bipartisan coalition of senators, representatives, and governors, along with local elected officials and Tribal leaders, strongly oppose this decision, which would harm Tribes and open the floodgates for an explosion of gaming across the country. Read More.

THE BUREAUCRATS

CAMPAIGN MOVES: The Biden campaign tapped SARA SCHREIBER as its chief of staff, our ELENA SCHNEIDER scooped. Schreiber most recently led the progressive advocacy group America Votes.

— The Biden campaign on Thursday also announced new hires in Wisconsin, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s BILL GLAUBER reports. GARREN RANDOLPH, who was the deputy state director for the Biden 2020 campaign, will be the state campaign manager.

— DEVIN REMIKER, who is the executive director of the state Democratic party and TANYA BJORK, senior adviser to the health care advocacy group, Protect Our Care, were announced as senior advisers to the campaign in Wisconsin.

MORE PERSONNEL MOVES: RODERICKA APPLEWHAITE is the new director of Black media at the White House. She most recently was at the strategic communications firm SKDK and worked on both Michigan Gov. GRETCHEN WHITMER’s reelection bid and PETE BUTTIGIEG’s presidential campaign.

Agenda Setting

MAJOR TROLLING: The Biden campaign took shots at its GOP opponents’ town halls with statements Wednesday trolling Florida Gov. RON DESANTIS and VIVEK RAMASWAMY from surrogates California Gov. GAVIN NEWSOM and Rep. RO KHANNA (D-Calif.), who had, respectively, debated them recently.

“Ron and his mentor turned [frenemy], Donald J. Trump, have the same posture on helping middle class families: they just don’t care,” Newsom said. “Vivek’s podcast of a campaign would be funny if it weren’t so deeply dangerous to our democracy,” Khanna said.

AS CLEAR AS IT GETS: Axios’ BARAK RAVID reports that during a meeting Thursday with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, National Security adviser JAKE SULLIVAN said Israel’s campaign in Gaza needs to “transition to the next lower intensity phase in a matter of weeks, not months,” according to U.S. and Israeli officials.

A U.S. official told Axios that there’s no deadline to scale things down and that the Biden administration understands the campaign will continue. National Security spokesperson JOHN KIRBY told reporters that Sullivan asked hard hitting questions, but did not dictate terms for a timeline. “It has to take as long as they feel they need to take in order to eliminate this threat, but we all want this to be over as soon as possible,” he said.

DON’T FRET. WE’VE GOT MORE TAX CREDIT NEWS: On Thursday, the Biden administration announced a set of plans to deploy billions of dollars worth of tax credits aimed at keeping clean energy manufacturing in the United States, NYT’s ALAN RAPPEPORT reports. The proposed rules from the Treasury Department outline ways that corporations can take advantage of the credits, which the department estimates could provide over $100 billion in savings over the next decade.

The department is hoping this will encourage companies to produce solar panels, process minerals, and make electric vehicle components within the United States, as opposed to relying on China.

A message from Keep the Promise Coalition:

What We're Reading

Biden's Economic Formula to Win in 2024 (The Atlantic’s Ronald Brownstein)

Biden is talking tougher about Israel, but continues to aid its war effort (NBC’s Peter Nicholas and Dan De Luce)

US green groups see new leverage from Biden’s COP28 promise (POLITICO’s Ben Lefebvre and Catherine Morehouse)

The Oppo Book

During his days at Denison University, JUSTIN WEISS, communications director at the Council on Environmental Quality, demonstrated he had quite the pipes. As a member of the Denison Hilltoppers, the school’s acapella group, he could captivate the audience. After his senior solo performance, one audience member said she “got chills listening” to one of his solos.

For a look into the team’s prowess, here they are in 2012 performing ADELE’s “Someone Like You.” You can find Weiss fourth to the right, stepping in front stage for a duet with his fellow Hilltopper at the 3:30 mark.

A message from Keep the Promise Coalition:

President Biden, keep your promise to Native Tribes! The Interior Department is considering a decision that would undermine your historic support of Native communities and commitment to advancing equity—both for and among Tribes.

Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) to support Tribal communities through gaming revenues, while limiting the risks associated with gaming in communities across country. Now, one Tribe wants the Interior to help them circumvent the law and open more casinos, which would not only harm Tribes in Oregon, but open the floodgates for an explosion of gaming across the country. Read More.

POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER

BARBRA STREISAND. In her new book My Name is Barbra, Streisand writes she was a long time admirer of Clinton dating back to his days as a “largely unknown governor of Arkansas.”

So, naturally, Streisand wrote to Clinton prior to his debate against Dole, advising him to recall how former President JOHN F. KENNEDY barely looked at RICHARD NIXON during their debates and didn’t do things like shake his head at Nixon’s responses. “So in my director mode, I told Bill, ‘Don’t react to everything Dole says. Just look down and write your notes. It’s more intriguing if the audience doesn’t know what you’re thinking until you say it.’”

Special thanks to our very own DANIEL LIPPMAN, who tirelessly went through Streisand’s book with the sole intention of helping out West Wing Playbook.

A CALL OUT! Do you think you have a harder trivia question? Send us your best one about the presidents, with a citation or sourcing, and we may feature it!

Edited by Eun Kyung Kim and Sam Stein.

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