August 28, 2025 • 13 mins
In this Briefing, Jon Decker breaks down the tragic Minnesota school shooting and the renewed debates over gun control in America. He also examines the political dynamics of the Israel-Hamas negotiations and the leadership turmoil at the CDC. The White House Briefing Room is hear daily on the iHeartRadio App, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to the White House Briefing Room for Thursday, August
of twenty eighth. I'm John Decker. It's a rare day
when President Trump isn't the top story in the news cycle,
but that was the case Wednesday, after another mass shooting
in America, this time at a school church in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
It left two children dead and seventeen injured. Minnesota Governor
(00:26):
Tim Walls, the former vice presidential candidate, at a news
conference that he was praying for the kids and teachers
whose first week of school was marred by this act
of violence.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
It's Minnesota's day to day, and it's my strongest desire
the no state, no community, no school, ever experiences a
day like this.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
As for President Trump, he had no public events on Wednesday.
He ordered that American flags be flown at half staff
at the White House and all public buildings until this
Sunday to honor the victim of the school shooting. The
President on Wednesday shared a meeting behind closed doors aimed
at ending the war in Gaza and mapping out a
(01:09):
post war plan for the territory, and disarray at the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as the CDC director
is pushed out of her job. But we begin this
Thursday with the tragic mass shooting in Minnesota. I was
at the White House this morning when I heard the news.
(01:30):
It was just before eight thirty am, when young children
were attending mass at a Catholic school in Minneapolis to
mark the first week of classes. Moments later, those students
and their families' lives were forever changed. That was after
a shooter killed two praying children and injured more than
(01:52):
a dozen others. Two children aged eight and ten years
old were pronounced dead at the scene, and at least
seventy seen other people were injured in the shooting, including
fourteen children and three adult parishioners in their eighties. All
of the remaining victims are experiencing various injuries, but police
(02:13):
at a press conference said they are all expected to survive.
Investigators right now are working to understand what may have
driven the shooter. The police chief in Minneapolis said the
shooter released what he called a manifesto on YouTube that
appeared to show the shooter at the scene, and he
also said it included some disturbing writings. Authorities say the
(02:36):
shooter wrote explicitly antisemitic remarks on the weapons he used,
as well as threats against President Donald Trump. Throughout the morning,
we learned that the President was monitoring the situation very closely,
and the FBI put out a statement regarding the shooter,
saying FBI is investigating this shooting as an active domestic
(02:57):
terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics. There were two fatalities,
an eight year old and a ten year old. In addition,
fourteen children and three adults were injured. The shooter has
been identified as Robin Westman, a male born as Robert
Westman now. Although President Trump did not make any remarks
(03:18):
on Wednesday regarding the shooting in Minnesota, Governor Timwalls of
Minnesota ordered that flags be flown at half staff and
all state buildings to honor the victims of the school shooting,
and he also expressed his condolences on behalf of a
very sad Minnesota community.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
On behalf of all the people of Minnesota, our deepest sympathies.
A wish that any of these words would make what
you're feeling now better, but it won't. A place that's
founded on community, founded on service, founded on family.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Now, Governor Walls said during that news conference that he
spoke to President Trump earlier in the day about the shootings.
Let's listen to what Governor Will said at a press
conference at the scene where this horrific tragedy played out.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Speaking with all the people here and grateful to our
federal partners. Senator Klobashar speaking earlier this morning and receiving
a call from from President Trump, who was with his
leadership team of the Attorney General and the Vice President,
expressing their deep condolences amongst the horror that happened, in
an offer to provide the support to the folks here
in Minnesota of what's needed.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
These school shootings are becoming all too familiar, and for
me covering the White House over the course of the
past three decades, I unfortunately have had to cover many
of these tragedies from the White House. From the White
House perspective, what it means in terms of the nation
as a whole, and whether these mass shootings would lead
(04:52):
to any type of public policy changes to prevent these
tragedies from happening at any time in the future. I
remember traveling with President Trump in his first term after
that mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue that was an
October of twenty eighteen, traveled with President Trump on Air
(05:14):
Force One out to Pittsburgh, and in that particular incident,
eleven congregants at the Tree of Life Congregation were killed.
In addition to that, four police officers were wounded. And
it was one of those tragedies that was carried out
with an AR fifteen style assault rifle and at least
(05:36):
three handguns. And that's not the first mass shooting that, unfortunately,
I've covered involving a religious school or something taking place
at a church or a synagogue or a temple. I
traveled down to Charleston, South Carolina, back in June of
twenty fifteen, and that was during President Obama's president. In
(06:00):
that particular incident, a white supremacist open fire inside the
Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston. He killed nine people.
Among the dead, they ranged in age from twenty six
to eighty seven. It was just a very sad day
for Charleston, a very sad day for our country. And unfortunately,
(06:24):
these types of incidents are happening all too frequently, and
in recent years, they're happening all too frequently at religious institutions.
Each time we hear about these mass shootings in Washington,
where I'm based and at the White House, which I cover,
I think maybe this is the shooting that will compel lawmakers,
(06:49):
compel the president, whether it's a Republican or Democrat, to
examine what can be done to make certain these tragedies
are so few and far between. It's so difficult to
even talk about the idea of eliminating these tragedies. But
all too often, the tragedies come and they go, and
(07:10):
we hear the type of remarks being made by our
public servants, even by religious leaders like Pope Leo, who
put out a statement on Wednesday, but it has never
really led to anything meaningful as it relates to gun
control in the United States. I'm not here advocating for
(07:32):
gun control or against gun control. I'm simply talking about
the idea that unfortunately, lawmakers, public servants, presidents never can
get everybody on the same page in terms of addressing
how to make these incidents. It's very rare in America.
The deadliest mess shooting in Connecticut history, and the deadliest
(07:54):
at an elementary school in US history, happened in December
of twenty twelve. That was a samdy Hook Elementary School.
That shooting in Newtown, Connecticut prompted renewed debate about gun
control in the US, including some proposals to make the
background check system universal, and also for new federal and
state gun legislation that would ban the sale and manufacture
(08:18):
of certain types of semi automatic firearms and magazines which
can hold more than ten rounds of ammunition. Now, despite
that renewed debate, nothing came out of that mass shooting either.
We'll have to see what happens on Thursday, if the
President takes the opportunity during some executive orders that he's
(08:39):
signing to address what happened in Minnesota on Wednesday. For
President Trump, on Wednesday, he was busy behind closed doors.
He was chairing a meeting at the White House aimed
at breaking the impasse on negotiations between Israel and AMAS
and trying to map out a post war plan for Gaza. Now,
(09:00):
this meeting included the President's top national security aids as
well as senior Israeli officials, and it's really an effort
to bring about an end to the war ahead of
the UN General Assembly meeting that happens in just a
few weeks in New York City, as Israel looks to
(09:21):
head off an effort by several countries, very prominent countries,
to recognize a Palestinian state for Israel. They are interested
in coming up with a post war Gaza plan before
anga the UN General Assembly in September. And the reason
for that is that several countries, including the UK, France,
(09:43):
and Canada, plan to recognize a Palestinian state. The US
President Trump Israel, they both sharply condemned this idea. They
say that a push for statehood would reward Hamas for
its terrorist attacks on October the seventh of twenty twenty
(10:04):
three that triggered this war in the first place. And
just ahead of the meeting that took place at the
White House on Wednesday, the President's Mid East Envoy, Steve Whitcoff,
in an interview on Fox News, said the White House
believes it can end the Israel Hamas war by the
end of this year. Now, the one party not present
(10:26):
at these talks is a representative for Hamas. Hamas is
considered a terrorist organization not only by the United States,
but also by the European Union. Now that's one reason
why Hamas did not have representation at these talks at
the White House. Hamas time and time again has rejected
various proposals that have been brought to it to at
(10:49):
the very least have a ceasefire. And one of the
reasons has to do with those hostages that they continue
to hold. They believe that's their leverage in terms of
getting what they want, and they are reluctant to give
up those hostages because that would eliminate any leverage they
have as it relates to peace talks that may happen
(11:10):
down the road. Lastly, on Wednesday, some late news involving
personnel matters concerning the Trump administration. The Director of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Susan Monterrez, has been
pushed out of her job. She led the agency for
less than a month, and she reportedly clashed quite often
(11:33):
with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Junior,
also members of his staff.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Now.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
The President had nominated her to lead the CDC in
March after he dropped his first choice for that position,
and Monarez is the first CDC had without a medical
degree in more than seventy years. Now. Despite the fact
that the White House claims that she has been fired.
(11:59):
She indicates through her lawyers that she has neither resigned
nor received notification from the White House that she's been fired. Now,
the dispute between the head of the CDC and Secretary
Kennedy apparently had to do with disputes over vaccine policy,
and these disputes involved many officials at the Centers for
(12:23):
Disease Control and Prevention. In fact, not only did the
personnel moves involve Susan Monez, we also learned that four
other high ranking CDC officials also quit on Wednesday, apparently
in frustration over vaccine policy and the leadership of Secretary Kennedy. Now,
(12:44):
on Thursday, the President is expected to sign more executive orders.
Right now, it's a closed event. There's also a one
pm Eastern Time briefing with White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt,
and she will certainly get many questions concerning the upheaval
at the CDC, which is charged with safe keeping the
(13:07):
public health of more than three hundred million people in America.
She'll also get questions, likely in regards to the latest
in the war in Ukraine and also the President's efforts
at federalizing the Metropolitan Police Department. So a lot to
keep our eyes on as we head in to the
new day. That's the White House Briefing Room, four Thursday,
(13:30):
August twenty eighth. I'm John Decker. Haveagod
Welcome to the White House Briefing Room for Thursday, August
of twenty eighth. I'm John Decker. It's a rare day
when President Trump isn't the top story in the news cycle,
but that was the case Wednesday, after another mass shooting
in America, this time at a school church in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
It left two children dead and seventeen injured. Minnesota Governor
(00:26):
Tim Walls, the former vice presidential candidate, at a news
conference that he was praying for the kids and teachers
whose first week of school was marred by this act
of violence.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
It's Minnesota's day to day, and it's my strongest desire
the no state, no community, no school, ever experiences a
day like this.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
As for President Trump, he had no public events on Wednesday.
He ordered that American flags be flown at half staff
at the White House and all public buildings until this
Sunday to honor the victim of the school shooting. The
President on Wednesday shared a meeting behind closed doors aimed
at ending the war in Gaza and mapping out a
(01:09):
post war plan for the territory, and disarray at the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as the CDC director
is pushed out of her job. But we begin this
Thursday with the tragic mass shooting in Minnesota. I was
at the White House this morning when I heard the news.
(01:30):
It was just before eight thirty am, when young children
were attending mass at a Catholic school in Minneapolis to
mark the first week of classes. Moments later, those students
and their families' lives were forever changed. That was after
a shooter killed two praying children and injured more than
(01:52):
a dozen others. Two children aged eight and ten years
old were pronounced dead at the scene, and at least
seventy seen other people were injured in the shooting, including
fourteen children and three adult parishioners in their eighties. All
of the remaining victims are experiencing various injuries, but police
(02:13):
at a press conference said they are all expected to survive.
Investigators right now are working to understand what may have
driven the shooter. The police chief in Minneapolis said the
shooter released what he called a manifesto on YouTube that
appeared to show the shooter at the scene, and he
also said it included some disturbing writings. Authorities say the
(02:36):
shooter wrote explicitly antisemitic remarks on the weapons he used,
as well as threats against President Donald Trump. Throughout the morning,
we learned that the President was monitoring the situation very closely,
and the FBI put out a statement regarding the shooter,
saying FBI is investigating this shooting as an active domestic
(02:57):
terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics. There were two fatalities,
an eight year old and a ten year old. In addition,
fourteen children and three adults were injured. The shooter has
been identified as Robin Westman, a male born as Robert
Westman now. Although President Trump did not make any remarks
(03:18):
on Wednesday regarding the shooting in Minnesota, Governor Timwalls of
Minnesota ordered that flags be flown at half staff and
all state buildings to honor the victims of the school shooting,
and he also expressed his condolences on behalf of a
very sad Minnesota community.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
On behalf of all the people of Minnesota, our deepest sympathies.
A wish that any of these words would make what
you're feeling now better, but it won't. A place that's
founded on community, founded on service, founded on family.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Now, Governor Walls said during that news conference that he
spoke to President Trump earlier in the day about the shootings.
Let's listen to what Governor Will said at a press
conference at the scene where this horrific tragedy played out.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Speaking with all the people here and grateful to our
federal partners. Senator Klobashar speaking earlier this morning and receiving
a call from from President Trump, who was with his
leadership team of the Attorney General and the Vice President,
expressing their deep condolences amongst the horror that happened, in
an offer to provide the support to the folks here
in Minnesota of what's needed.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
These school shootings are becoming all too familiar, and for
me covering the White House over the course of the
past three decades, I unfortunately have had to cover many
of these tragedies from the White House. From the White
House perspective, what it means in terms of the nation
as a whole, and whether these mass shootings would lead
(04:52):
to any type of public policy changes to prevent these
tragedies from happening at any time in the future. I
remember traveling with President Trump in his first term after
that mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue that was an
October of twenty eighteen, traveled with President Trump on Air
(05:14):
Force One out to Pittsburgh, and in that particular incident,
eleven congregants at the Tree of Life Congregation were killed.
In addition to that, four police officers were wounded. And
it was one of those tragedies that was carried out
with an AR fifteen style assault rifle and at least
(05:36):
three handguns. And that's not the first mass shooting that, unfortunately,
I've covered involving a religious school or something taking place
at a church or a synagogue or a temple. I
traveled down to Charleston, South Carolina, back in June of
twenty fifteen, and that was during President Obama's president. In
(06:00):
that particular incident, a white supremacist open fire inside the
Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston. He killed nine people.
Among the dead, they ranged in age from twenty six
to eighty seven. It was just a very sad day
for Charleston, a very sad day for our country. And unfortunately,
(06:24):
these types of incidents are happening all too frequently, and
in recent years, they're happening all too frequently at religious institutions.
Each time we hear about these mass shootings in Washington,
where I'm based and at the White House, which I cover,
I think maybe this is the shooting that will compel lawmakers,
(06:49):
compel the president, whether it's a Republican or Democrat, to
examine what can be done to make certain these tragedies
are so few and far between. It's so difficult to
even talk about the idea of eliminating these tragedies. But
all too often, the tragedies come and they go, and
(07:10):
we hear the type of remarks being made by our
public servants, even by religious leaders like Pope Leo, who
put out a statement on Wednesday, but it has never
really led to anything meaningful as it relates to gun
control in the United States. I'm not here advocating for
(07:32):
gun control or against gun control. I'm simply talking about
the idea that unfortunately, lawmakers, public servants, presidents never can
get everybody on the same page in terms of addressing
how to make these incidents. It's very rare in America.
The deadliest mess shooting in Connecticut history, and the deadliest
(07:54):
at an elementary school in US history, happened in December
of twenty twelve. That was a samdy Hook Elementary School.
That shooting in Newtown, Connecticut prompted renewed debate about gun
control in the US, including some proposals to make the
background check system universal, and also for new federal and
state gun legislation that would ban the sale and manufacture
(08:18):
of certain types of semi automatic firearms and magazines which
can hold more than ten rounds of ammunition. Now, despite
that renewed debate, nothing came out of that mass shooting either.
We'll have to see what happens on Thursday, if the
President takes the opportunity during some executive orders that he's
(08:39):
signing to address what happened in Minnesota on Wednesday. For
President Trump, on Wednesday, he was busy behind closed doors.
He was chairing a meeting at the White House aimed
at breaking the impasse on negotiations between Israel and AMAS
and trying to map out a post war plan for Gaza. Now,
(09:00):
this meeting included the President's top national security aids as
well as senior Israeli officials, and it's really an effort
to bring about an end to the war ahead of
the UN General Assembly meeting that happens in just a
few weeks in New York City, as Israel looks to
(09:21):
head off an effort by several countries, very prominent countries,
to recognize a Palestinian state for Israel. They are interested
in coming up with a post war Gaza plan before
anga the UN General Assembly in September. And the reason
for that is that several countries, including the UK, France,
(09:43):
and Canada, plan to recognize a Palestinian state. The US
President Trump Israel, they both sharply condemned this idea. They
say that a push for statehood would reward Hamas for
its terrorist attacks on October the seventh of twenty twenty
(10:04):
three that triggered this war in the first place. And
just ahead of the meeting that took place at the
White House on Wednesday, the President's Mid East Envoy, Steve Whitcoff,
in an interview on Fox News, said the White House
believes it can end the Israel Hamas war by the
end of this year. Now, the one party not present
(10:26):
at these talks is a representative for Hamas. Hamas is
considered a terrorist organization not only by the United States,
but also by the European Union. Now that's one reason
why Hamas did not have representation at these talks at
the White House. Hamas time and time again has rejected
various proposals that have been brought to it to at
(10:49):
the very least have a ceasefire. And one of the
reasons has to do with those hostages that they continue
to hold. They believe that's their leverage in terms of
getting what they want, and they are reluctant to give
up those hostages because that would eliminate any leverage they
have as it relates to peace talks that may happen
(11:10):
down the road. Lastly, on Wednesday, some late news involving
personnel matters concerning the Trump administration. The Director of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Susan Monterrez, has been
pushed out of her job. She led the agency for
less than a month, and she reportedly clashed quite often
(11:33):
with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Junior,
also members of his staff.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Now.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
The President had nominated her to lead the CDC in
March after he dropped his first choice for that position,
and Monarez is the first CDC had without a medical
degree in more than seventy years. Now. Despite the fact
that the White House claims that she has been fired.
(11:59):
She indicates through her lawyers that she has neither resigned
nor received notification from the White House that she's been fired. Now,
the dispute between the head of the CDC and Secretary
Kennedy apparently had to do with disputes over vaccine policy,
and these disputes involved many officials at the Centers for
(12:23):
Disease Control and Prevention. In fact, not only did the
personnel moves involve Susan Monez, we also learned that four
other high ranking CDC officials also quit on Wednesday, apparently
in frustration over vaccine policy and the leadership of Secretary Kennedy. Now,
(12:44):
on Thursday, the President is expected to sign more executive orders.
Right now, it's a closed event. There's also a one
pm Eastern Time briefing with White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt,
and she will certainly get many questions concerning the upheaval
at the CDC, which is charged with safe keeping the
(13:07):
public health of more than three hundred million people in America.
She'll also get questions, likely in regards to the latest
in the war in Ukraine and also the President's efforts
at federalizing the Metropolitan Police Department. So a lot to
keep our eyes on as we head in to the
new day. That's the White House Briefing Room, four Thursday,
(13:30):
August twenty eighth. I'm John Decker. Haveagod
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