Santa Clarita Shooting: Bill Clinton Slams Trump, 'Work For The American People'

Former president Bill Clinton slammed President Donald Trump and his administration for using the impeachment inquiry as an excuse to do nothing about pushing for stricter gun control.

Clinton, who was president for two terms from 1993 to 2001, was impeached on Dec. 19, 1998. He was impeached after an only two month-long investigation by the Republican-controlled House for his affair with White House intern, Monica Lewinsky and because of a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by Paula Jones. He was, however, not convicted by the Democrat-controlled Senate and so kept the presidency.

Clinton's beef with the Trump administration was triggered by remarks made by attorney general Bill Barr, one of Trump's leading allies, who said Wednesday "discussions on the legislative aspects" of gun control "have been sidetracked because of the impeachment process on the Hill."

His remarks critical of Barr and the administration followed a high school shooting at Santa Clarita, California Thursday morning that left two students dead and three others wounded. The gunman tried to commit suicide but failed. He's now in serious condition at a local hospital.

Asked by CNN anchor Jake Tapper on air what his message to Trump would be when Trump says, "I can’t work with these people. They’re impeaching me," Clinton replied Trump needs to work with Congress on gun control legislation despite the current impeachment inquiry. He also said Trump needs to "do what's right for the children."

“You got hired to do a job," said Clinton. "You don't get the days back you blow off."

Clinton then goaded Trump into trying to do anything.

“Every day's an opportunity to make something good happen," Clinton pointed out. "I would say, 'I've got lawyers and staff people handling the impeachment inquiry and they should just have at it. Meanwhile, I'm going to work for the American people'."

Clinton was the last president to have signed major gun control legislation. He signed the landmark assault weapons ban in 1994 that has since expired.

Clinton said the House's impeachment investigation into his affairs didn't stop him from doing his job as president.

“Look at how much we got done in 1998 and 1999,” said Clinton.

Trump has been consistently wishy-washy in his support for stricter background checks, appearing to be strongly in favor of them after a mass shooting and wavering after being convinced to back down by the pro-gun lobby in Congress and the National Rifle Association (NRA).

Clinton believes Trump was pulled back from measures such as enhanced background checks by the gun lobby who "got a hold of him."

"But at some point, denial is no longer an option. The Congress is basically in denial of the consequences of doing nothing, or at least the people who are opposed to it," he went on.

In the Santa Clarita shooting, a second victim, a 14 year-old boy, died from his gunshot wound Thursday afternoon after a lone gunman shot two people dead and wounded three others at the Saugus High School. The other student killed was a 16 year-old girl.

All the victims are students at the school located 40 miles from downtown Los Angeles. More than 2,480 students attend Saugus High School, which is one of the largest high schools in a school district with 24,400 students.

The gunman, also a student at the school, later shot himself in the head after pulling a Colt .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol from his backpack and quickly shooting five student, apparently at random, before turning the gun on himself. A regular Colt. 45 carries seven rounds in a standard magazine.

The Santa Clarita Sheriff's Department (SCSD) confirmed Thursday was the gunman's 16th birthday. The gunman remains in critical condition at a local hospital. Police have not yet been able to discern a motive for the shooting.