Morning Joe Edits Out Senator's Town Hall Response to Gun Control Supporters

On MSNBC’s Morning Joe Tuesday, footage of Sen. Kelly Ayotte’s (R-NH) town hall was carefully edited to take away the Senator’s rational explanations for why she opposes background checks, while leaving in full the emotional appeals from gun control proponents attending the Monday event.

The segment opened by showing Erica Lafferty, daughter of the slain Sandy Hook Elementary School principal, speaking to Ayotte at the town hall. Lafferty said Ayotte had opposed background checks because they would hurt gun store owners in New Hampshire, and then she asked why the thought of “my mother being gunned down in the halls of the elementary school isn’t as important as that.”

Instead of explaining that background checks had nothing to do with the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, the Morning Joe crew showed video of Lafferty storming out of the town hall in protest–after she didn’t get the answer she wanted. 

Host Joe Scarborough and panelist Chuck Todd used the discussion to suggest Republicans’ stances on background checks are making or breaking their popularity among constituents. 

Scarborough said, “We’ve been looking at the polls, and Ayotte is down, of course.” He continued, “You look at Pat Toomey [R-PA], and [he’s] up 7 percentage points in his home state.” 

Scarborough did not mention Toomey has completely disavowed and abandoned the very bill he was championing two weeks ago–the Manchin-Toomey “compromise.” 

Scarborough specifically suggested Ayotte will face political fallout for her vote, saying there is no place for any politician to run and hide in New Hampshire. 

However, a Quinnipiac University Poll was on the screen showing that Americans trust Republicans with guns 42% to 38% over Democrats. But Scarborough bypassed the poll, and instead went back to describing gun control as an “emotional” issue.