The deadly shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis continues to reverberate, but much of the response from state and local leaders has focused less on root causes and more on politics. On Chicago’s Morning Answer, Dan Proft spoke with John Hinderaker, president of the Center of the American Experiment and contributor to Powerline Blog, about what he sees as a troubling pattern in Minnesota’s political establishment.
Hinderaker noted that Democratic leaders, including Mayor Jacob Frey, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, and Rep. Ilhan Omar, bypassed the victims’ funeral to attend a rally framed as a vigil that quickly became a push for stricter gun control. He compared the atmosphere to the infamous 2002 Wellstone memorial, where a funeral was turned into a political rally. Gov. Tim Walz has floated the idea of a special legislative session to ban semi-automatic rifles, despite Democrats passing a “red flag” law last year that failed to prevent the shooter—who had a documented history of instability—from carrying out his attack.
Meanwhile, Minnesota Democrats are fundraising off the tragedy. The state DFL House caucus sent an email blast headlined “It’s time to ban assault weapons,” linking to donation options. Hinderaker called it “an appalling fundraising plea subsidized by taxpayers” since contributions are partially reimbursed under state rules.
Questions remain about the shooter’s past. Reports suggest his mother initially resisted his transition but relented under pressure, while his father may have enabled his decline. Old classmates described disturbing behavior going back to middle school, yet little intervention occurred even after police calls to the family home. Despite the shooter’s manifesto acknowledging his own mental illness, leaders like Frey insisted the public discussion should center on “hate against the trans community,” sidelining questions of mental health, ideology, and systemic failures.
Hinderaker argued that Democrats are using the tragedy to replicate their 2022 campaign playbook—shifting elections away from public safety, education, and economic performance and toward hot-button cultural issues like abortion and now gun control. “It’s better for them than running on their record,” he said, pointing to Minneapolis’ declining tax base, spiking property taxes, and persistent struggles to rebuild police staffing since 2020.
For residents of Minneapolis, the debate underscores the city’s ongoing challenges: a dwindling commercial core, high crime rates, and political leadership more focused on messaging than on confronting uncomfortable realities about crime, mental illness, and accountability.