Clinton unveils the Brady Briefing Room plaque in 2000. Posted on 09/20/2025 6:36:38 AM PDT by marktwain
When Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addresses the media and the American people, the shadow of the room’s namesake looms over her shoulder. The White House Press Briefing Room is officially named the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room.
Brady, a former White House Press Secretary, was shot during the assassination attempt on President Reagan in 1981. But most Americans today are more likely to associate the name with the left-leaning gun control organization than with the man himself.
Is that really how we want to represent the pro-American, pro-Constitution Trump White House?
The connection between the name “Brady” and the White House press room is no political coincidence. The room was named after Brady 19 years after he was shot, on February 11, 2000, by gun control advocate President Bill Clinton.
Clinton had positioned himself as a major proponent of the anti-gun movement. He attacked gun manufacturers and signed the 1994 Federal Assault Weapon Ban. In his remarks naming the press briefing room, Clinton applauded Brady for helping to “strengthen our Nation’s gun laws” while cautioning that “[t]here is more work to do, and Jim and [his wife] Sarah are ready to do it.”
Naming one of the most famous locations in America after a shooting victim whose name has become synonymous with the modern gun control movement was a political move in favor of Clinton’s anti-gun position—a move that President Trump should now counter by removing the name.Clinton unveils the Brady Briefing Room plaque in 2000.
The work of Brady and his wife in furthering gun control was a sharp contradiction to the National Rifle Association (NRA)-endorsed Ronald Reagan. Following the Reagan assassination attempt, Brady and his wife, Sarah, actively promoted the gun control agenda. Sarah joined the National Council to Control Handguns (which became the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence the same year the press briefing room took Brady’s name) and quickly rose within its ranks, first being elected to the board in 1985 and then becoming chairman in 1989. She was the chairman of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and its sister organization, the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, for many years.
The Brady organization’s website boasts about President Clinton naming the room for James Brady, stating:
“On February 11, 2000, President Clinton officially named the White House Press Briefing Room ‘The James S. Brady Press Briefing Room’ in Jim’s honor. A plaque honoring Jim for his service as White House Press Secretary now hangs in that room.”
Their mission statement makes it even more explicit:
“Brady has one powerful mission — to unite all Americans against gun violence. We work across Congress, the courts, and our communities with over 90 grassroots chapters, bringing together young and old, red and blue, and every shade of color to find common ground in common sense. In the spirit of our namesakes Jim and Sarah Brady, we have fought for over 45 years to take action, not sides, and we will not stop until this epidemic ends. It’s in our hands.”
Given what the Brady name now connotes, it should no longer be associated with a White House hallmark. And certainly not conflated with any basic constitutional freedoms.
That the press room is named after Brady is a distinct irony given the importance of the right to bear arms in protecting the First Amendment’s right to free speech. Totalitarian regimes rely on gun control to stifle public dissent and, indeed, the free press. So why is the press briefing room named for opponents of the Constitution’s Second Amendment?
Administrations may change, but the White House as a building must always represent the nation and the people objectively. Permanently naming the press briefing room after someone as politically charged as Brady contradicts that goal. Imagine the outrage if the Trump administration renamed it the NRA Press Briefing Room. The Democrats would (rightly) have conniptions.
To pay homage to our nation’s illustrious heritage, President Trump should rename the press room after historical figures such as James Madison or Benjamin Franklin. Both are American heroes.
Madison was the Father of the Constitution and the fourth President of the United States. He shaped the United States into the great nation that it is today. He was a staunch proponent of freedom of speech and religious liberty—two freedoms the colonists were denied under tyrannical British rule. He also drafted the Bill of Rights, which enshrined forever our fundamental personal freedoms such as speech, religious practice, the right to bear arms, freedom of the press, and more. Benjamin Franklin signed the Declaration of Independence, helped craft the U.S. Constitution, and was a prominent author and publisher.
The White House Press Briefing Room should not bear a name with such modern-day political connotations. It’s time to either restore neutrality or honor a longstanding American legacy.
Mark W. Smith is a constitutional attorney, bestselling author, and host of the Four Boxes Diner Second Amendment Channel on YouTube. His X handle is @FourBoxesDiner.
I believe that room was turned into a room dedicated for press conferences by POTUS Nixon. Prior to that it contained the indoor pool used by JFK to knock off his young women (aides and anyone else handy). In this era of virtual meetings, it should be repurposed for much-needed WH offices.
Name it after Charlie kirk
Good call!
I assume he’s a professional writer. Is this really what he intended?
“”The room was named after Brady 19 years after he was shot, on February 11, 2000, by gun control advocate President Bill Clinton.””
LOL Whoops!
Maybe I’m missing something, but:
1) Brady was shot in 1981. 2000 is 19 years later.
2) Bill Clinton was President in 2000 and there is a photo of him unveiling the plaque naming the Press Room after Brady.
3) Bill Clinton (more properly his wife) was a raving gun-grabber. The brain-dead Brady was the stooge they were looking for.
The statement makes sense, to me.
“”The room was named after Brady 19 years after he was shot, on February 11, 2000, by gun control advocate President Bill Clinton.””
How about instead and more correct:
The room was named after Brady by gun control advocate President Bill Clinton on February 11, 2000, 19 years after Brady was shot.
Or you’d prefer to read that the president shot Brady? Words and the arrangement of same, matter!
Rename it the “Smith, Wesson, Colt, Browning, Ruger, Sig and Sauer Press Briefing Room.”
Those points are all correct but, the sentence states that the room was named after Brady, 19 years after he was shot by President Clinton.
It’s a convoluted, awkward sentence, no doubt. I agree with Empire it makes sense (especially after you “unpack” it like Empire did).
But readers shouldn’t have to diagram a sentence to make sense of it.
I disagree.
Just because some people have no sense of history, doesn’t mean we have to bend a knee to them.
On one hand, people are all worked up over the name changes of military bases because of “history.” On the other, they wish to ignore history.
For goodness sake, we have much more important stuff to worry about.
CHECK
Let’s see. You can’t overthrow a government hoping the people will followup and make it more stable or to our liking. Will all the illegal Mexicans go home and make them more like the US even if we destroy the cartels? Doubt it. 8 billion people in this world. We’re gonna have to ask how many can we handle. You’d think the Mideast should keep their own.
I thank you, but still don’t get it. Your statement works, but is not necessary. The original is just as good.
Bill Clinton did not have a time machine. He could not shoot Brady 19 years previously.
I believe that the point of the author’s statement is that the room was named 19 years after Brady was shot. The word “named” is the verb, not “shot”.
I don’t think that it’s possible to read the original statement the way you are reading it.
I do agree with you about the arrangement of words.
I am thinking that the comma after the word “shot” indemnifies the President. ;-)
I agree.
FTA
Then-Pres Clinton officially named it ‘The James S. Brady Press Briefing Room.’
A plaque honoring his service as WH Press Secy now hangs in that room.”
The mission statement makes it even more explicit:
“Brady has one powerful mission — to unite all Americans against gun violence. We work across Congress, the courts, and our communities with over 90 grassroots chapters, bringing together young and old, red and blue, and every shade of color to find common ground in common sense. In the spirit of our namesakes Jim and Sarah Brady, we have fought for over 45 years to take action, not sides, and we will not stop until this epidemic ends. It’s in our hands.”
“”But readers shouldn’t have to diagram a sentence to make sense of it.””
You’re right - we shouldn’t HAVE to but anymore it’s a MUST! I’m sure those of us who were taught how to diagram sentences back in the middle ages figured it was a waste of time. Poorly structured sentences of today just set our teeth on edge...IOW, they stand out..
Diagramming sentences is nearly a lost art as we have observed. It’s rarely taught anymore. Modern curricula emphasize practical communication skills, creative writing, and digital literacy over formal grammar drills. Diagramming is seen as time-intensive and less directly applicable to standardized tests or real-world writing.
And it really shows, doesn’t it?
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