LE MARS, IOWA—After speaking to a crowd of roughly 100 Iowans on Thursday morning, Carly Fiorina told reporters that the shooting of two Virginia reporters on live television Wednesday was a "tragedy" and "really disturbing." But she also had hard words for Democrats who, in the discussion of the shooting, called for stricter gun laws.
She said she found it "so disappointing that once again, politicians—in this case Democrats—politicize a tragedy."
Fiorina went on to criticize Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (and by extension, Hillary Clinton) for using the shooting as an example for the need for stricter gun legislation.
"They do this every time. Every time we have a tragedy, they use it as an opportunity to push forward their ideological agenda, even though we know that in the vast majority of the cases, the things they're pushing for would have made no difference at all," Fiorina said. "We ought to spend some time contemplating as a nation our sorrow, this horror, and if anything, we ought to be talking about mental health and its treatment, not gun control."
Fiorina made her comments to reporters after speaking to a packed room of roughly 100 Iowans at the Blue Bunny Ice Cream Parlor here.