Did Jeb Bush really just dismiss the Oregon shootings by saying 'stuff happens'?
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
A mini controversy has already sprouted around Jeb Bush thanks to a particularly damning sound bite tweeted by The New Yorker's Ryan Lizza:
Some of the more liberal corners of the media quickly highlighted the quote as alleged proof that Bush had made an unforgivable gaffe in light of a recent tragedy:
But did Bush really throw up his hands and shrug in the face of the deadly shooting at an Oregon community college? When asked to weigh in on the tragedy and the ongoing gun control debate during a South Carolina campaign stop, here is what Bush replied:
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
We're in a difficult time in our country and I don't think more government is necessarily the answer to this. I think we need to reconnect ourselves with everybody else. It's very sad to see. But I resist the notion, and I had this challenge as governor — look, stuff happens. There's always a crisis. The impulse is always to do something and it's not necessarily the right thing to do. [YouTube]
Watch Bush's remarks in the video below. Samantha Rollins
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Samantha Rollins is TheWeek.com's news editor. She has previously worked for The New York Times and TIME and is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.
-
Tourangelle-style pork with prunes recipeThe Week Recommends This traditional, rustic dish is a French classic
-
The Epstein files: glimpses of a deeply disturbing worldIn the Spotlight Trove of released documents paint a picture of depravity and privilege in which men hold the cards, and women are powerless or peripheral
-
Jeff Bezos: cutting the legs off The Washington PostIn the Spotlight A stalwart of American journalism is a shadow of itself after swingeing cuts by its billionaire owner
-
Maxwell pleads 5th, offers Epstein answers for pardonSpeed Read She offered to talk only if she first received a pardon from President Donald Trump
-
Hong Kong jails democracy advocate Jimmy LaiSpeed Read The former media tycoon was sentenced to 20 years in prison
-
Ex-Illinois deputy gets 20 years for Massey murderSpeed Read Sean Grayson was sentenced for the 2024 killing of Sonya Massey
-
Sole suspect in Brown, MIT shootings found deadSpeed Read The mass shooting suspect, a former Brown grad student, died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds
-
France makes first arrests in Louvre jewels heistSpeed Read Two suspects were arrested in connection with the daytime theft of royal jewels from the museum
-
Trump pardons crypto titan who enriched familySpeed Read Binance founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023 to enabling money laundering while CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange
-
Thieves nab French crown jewels from LouvreSpeed Read A gang of thieves stole 19th century royal jewels from the Paris museum’s Galerie d’Apollon
-
Arsonist who attacked Shapiro gets 25-50 yearsSpeed Read Cody Balmer broke into the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion and tried to burn it down
