'Arming the problem': Ex-Trump operative slams president for making school shootings worse

A former Donald Trump insider who has himself experienced a child hiding from an active shooter skewered the president for making the school shooting problem even worse.

Former Trump associate Lev Parnas, who says he used to be "deep inside the Trump machine" and now reports from the outside, published an article called "The Dreaded Phone Call No Parent Should Ever Get." In the piece, Parnas talks about his own past with a daughter texting him while hiding from a potential shooter.

"I remember everything about that day. I remember the panic in my chest as I jumped in my car and sped toward my daughter’s high school. As I drove, my mind was racing with every dark thought imaginable — was she safe, where was she hiding, would I ever see her again?" Parnas recalled, before taking it to Trump.

"And here’s what makes me sick: instead of tackling this head-on, Donald Trump wastes taxpayer money on vanity projects and theatrics. Hundreds of millions on ballrooms, parades, and photo-ops with the National Guard," Parnas wrote. "He parades himself as 'tough on crime' and 'tough on immigration,' but when it comes to the real crisis — kids being gunned down in classrooms — he is silent."

The ex-Trump insider went on to ask, "What about our children? Where is his toughness then? Instead of protecting schools, he pushes to make it easier to get assault rifles. Just think about that."

Parnas then quoted Trump as saying, “I will protect the right of self-defense everywhere it is under siege, and I will sign concealed-carry reciprocity. Your Second Amendment does not end at the state line.”

Parnas added:

"And this isn’t just talk. In 2023, he reaffirmed that pledge. And now, in 2025, House Republicans have introduced the so-called Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, which would force every state to recognize concealed carry permits issued anywhere in the country. Trump has already vowed to sign it into law. That’s not protecting kids — that’s arming the problem."

Parnas further wrote, "This must stop. Enough is enough."

"For our children, for our future — it’s time to act," he concluded.

Read the full post here.