Democrats reacting to the deadly Minneapolis school shooting by belittling prayer may want to ask the Almighty for help with their messaging.
The Democratic Party was accused of being callous and out of touch after a host of liberal lawmakers derided the idea of responding with “thoughts and prayers” to the horrific attack Wednesday at Annunciation Catholic School.
“And don’t just say, this is about thoughts and prayers right now. These kids were literally praying,” said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey at a press briefing after the shooting.
Those taking issue with the anti-prayer narrative included the White House, Minnesota Bishop Robert Barron, Republican lawmakers, and Christian evangelist Franklin Graham, who pointed out that “Jesus Himself prayed fervently when He was facing death on the cross.”
“To the Democratic Mayor of Minneapolis and the other socialist left [figures] who have criticized calling for prayer in the aftermath of the tragic school shooting — your words do not change or diminish the power and importance of prayer,” Mr. Graham said Friday on X.
Other prayer-scoffing Democrats included Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who said on X that “Thoughts and prayers are not enough to prevent gun violence,” and former Biden White House press secretary Jen Psaki, who posted, “Prayer is not freaking enough.”
SEE ALSO: ‘Full of hate’: Minneapolis shooter motivated by desire to kill defenseless children
California Gov. Gavin Newsom chimed in: “These children were literally praying as they got shot at.”
Bishop Barron said that the skepticism represents a fundamental misunderstanding of the purpose of prayer.
“Friends, prayer doesn’t magically protect us from suffering,” the bishop said. “At its core, prayer is raising the mind and heart to God, which is absolutely appropriate in times of deep pain.”
Former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer attributed the conflict to the “growing religious gap in America” between the political parties, saying the result is that Democrats are increasingly inclined to “demean Christians, particularly prayerful Christians.”
“I don’t think they understand why people pray, I don’t think they understand what faith, belief in God, is fundamentally all about,” Mr. Fleischer said Friday on Fox News. “And this is a huge disconnect. And it’s going to hurt the Democrats.”
Vice President J.D. Vance, who is Catholic, said that of “all the weird left-wing culture wars in the last few years, this is by far the most bizarre.”
“It is shocking to me that so many left-wing politicians attack the idea of prayer in response to a tragedy,” he said on X. “Literally no one thinks prayer is a substitute for action. We pray because our hearts are broken and we believe that God is listening.”
Mr. Vance led a crowd of supporters in prayer for the shooting victims at an appearance Thursday at Mid-City Steel in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Two children were killed and 18 students and staff were wounded by a shooter who opened fire during morning Mass. The shooting suspect died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound immediately after the attack.
Democrats argued that the focus should be on preventing future shootings by passing additional gun-control laws.
At a Thursday news conference, Minnesota Democrats led by Mr. Frey and Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar called for a federal and state ban on certain semi-automatic rifles and high-capacity magazines.
“Thoughts and prayers are not going to cut it,” said Mr. Frey, as reported by the Sahan Journal. “We need action at the federal level. We need action at the state level. We need coordination with the cities around the country.”
These children were literally praying as they got shot at. https://t.co/H7RGZhCTFc
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) August 28, 2025
Some Democrats appeared to argue that prayer is ineffective because the Annunciation students were attacked while attending Mass.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota Democrat, said on CNN: “Thoughts and prayers just aren’t enough here right now, because these kids were actually praying.”
Rep. Maxwell Frost, Florida Democrat, posted on X: “These children were probably praying when they were shot to death at Catholic school. Don’t give us your f—-ing thoughts and prayers.”
Mr. Vance countered that the Democrats are missing the point.
“We pray because our hearts are broken. We pray because we know God listens. We pray because we know that God works in mysterious ways, and can inspire us to further action,” he said. “Why do you feel the need to attack other people for praying when kids were just killed praying?”
Mr. Graham explained that calling for prayer “doesn’t mean that bad things aren’t going to happen or that the emergency is going to disappear, we all know that.”
“But prayer is our opportunity to communicate directly with the God of Heaven and take our petitions to Him,” he said. “God does see, God does hear, and God can intervene.”
The two deceased children have been identified as Fletcher Merkel, 8, and Harper Moyski, 10. GoFundMe launched a centralized hub of verified fundraising campaigns related to the tragedy entitled “Minneapolis Catholic school shooting relief.”
