Oprah Says Americans Are Missing a ‘Core Moral Center’ After Deadly Mass Shootings

U.S. media executive and talk show host Oprah Winfrey talks to the press as she arrives to the opening celebration of the Statue of Liberty Museum on Liberty Island at the Statue Cruises Terminal in Battery Park in New York on May 15, 2019. Kena Betancur/AFP/Getty Images

Oprah Winfrey gave her insight into the reason behind extreme violence in an interview with “Extra” after the deadly mass shootings in Dayton and Ohio.

“I think what people are missing is a core moral center,” said the 65-year-old entertainment mogul.

“Churches used to do that,” the OWN boss continued. “It was a central place you could come to, and there was a core center of values about a way of living and a way of being in the world. Until we can return to that, however that is, in whatever form, we will continue to be lost.”

The Family Research Council (FRC) told The Epoch Times that the “epidemic of absentee fathers” and “disintegrating family structure in America” is a significant issue and cause of mass shootings, said Ret. Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin, Vice President of the FRC.

Joe Biden blamed the shootings on the NRA when talking to a crowd in Las Vegas, The Epoch Times reported.

“This is a sickness. This is beyond anything that we should be tolerating,” Biden said. “We can beat the NRA. We can beat the gun manufacturers,” The Associated Press reported.

The El Paso shooter has no reported link to the NRA.

The NRA gave an official statement regarding the criticisms that the Democratic presidential candidates had laid on them.

“Unfortunately, aspiring presidential candidates immediately took to the airwaves this past weekend to politicize these tragedies, and to demonize the NRA and its 5 million law-abiding members,” the NRA said in an Aug. 8 statement.

“We all know the truth: the answers we seek lie far beyond statements neatly packaged for TV programs and the political campaign trail. We must identify what is at the root of the problem.” It noted that a slew of shootings took place in Chicago over the same weekend and said combating violence is “an extremely complicated issue.”

Also, Biden said on Aug. 8 that Trump didn’t condemn neo-Nazis and white nationalists after the Charlottesville incident.

But when a reporter tried to correct Biden by saying that Trump did condemn the neo-Nazis and the white nationalists, Biden refused to change his comments.

Here’s a video of Trump condemning neo-Nazis and white nationalists.

Mass Shootings Condemned by President Trump

President Donald Trump condemned the two mass shootings that took place over the weekend in an Aug. 4 proclamation that honored the victims in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas. He ordered the U.S. flag to be flown at half-staff at the White House and all other public buildings, The Epoch Times reported.

“We condemn these hateful and cowardly acts,” Trump said in the proclamation. “Through our grief, America stands united with the people of El Paso and Dayton. May God be with the victims of these two horrific crimes and bring aid and comfort to their families and friends.”

“Our nation mourns with those whose loved ones were murdered in the tragic shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, and we share in the pain and suffering of all those who were injured in these two senseless attacks,” he said.

In Dayton, there were nine people killed, and dozens more wounded after a man clad in body armor fired into a downtown district on Aug. 4. He was shot dead by police shortly after opening fire. A motive wasn’t immediately clear.

In El Paso, Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott and law enforcement said there were 20 people killed and 26 others wounded on Aug. 3 in a shopping center attack. The suspect is currently in custody, and his motives are under investigation.

The Epoch Times reporters Miguel Moreno, Bowen Xiao, Zachary Stieber, and The Associated Press contributed to this report