Former Senior White House advisor Dan Pfeiffer admits that one of President Obama’s angriest moments in the White House was after the Senate blocked his push for gun control.
“I think one of the most angry I’ve seen him was after the Senate failed to pass background checks in 2013,” Pfeiffer explained in an interview with broadcaster Charlie Rose.
Pfeiffer admitted that the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting was one of the most “emotional” moments in Obama’s presidency thus far. The Senate’s refusal to act on any form of gun control, however, infuriated the president.
“There was probably no issue that better exemplified the dysfunctionality of that Congress, that an issue like backgrounds checks with 90 percent support could be defeated only a few months after a tragedy like Newtown,” he said. “Like if you couldn’t do it then you know when in the future could you possibly do it?”
Earlier this month, Obama vented his frustrations on gun control during a town hall appearance at St. Benedict College in South Carolina.
“I’ll be honest with you, I thought after what happened at Sandy Hook, that that would make us think about it,” he said, referring to gun control initiatives.
Calling his meeting with parents of the victims of the Sandy Hook shooting the “hardest day of his presidency,” Obama explained that “you would have thought at that point, that has got to be enough of a motivator for us to want to do something about this.”