WATCH: Tom Cotton Schools CNN’s Dana Bash, Leaves Her Stunned With Powerful Comeback

Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) delivered a bold and firm response to CNN’s Dana Bash after she tried to pin him down on the issue of school shootings, days after a tragic incident where a mentally ill student opened fire, killing four and critically injuring nine others.

Bash, known for her tough questions, quoted a statement by Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) that school shootings are “just a way of life” in America. This quote was later clarified after being taken out of context by the Associated Press, but that didn’t stop Bash from using it in her questioning of Cotton. She attempted to corner him by asking what Republican lawmakers were doing to address the rising issue of mass shootings.

“Do you accept that school shootings like this are just a way of life now?” Bash asked.

Without missing a beat, Cotton shot back with a powerful response: “It wasn’t as bad as it might have been because there was a police officer on school premises that was able to neutralize the shooter. Kamala Harris wants to take police officers out of schools. She’s said it in the past.”

Cotton was referring to a previous comment made by Vice President Kamala Harris in 2019, when she said, “What we need to do about demilitarizing our schools, and taking police officers out of schools.” Republicans have highlighted this statement as proof that Harris opposes having trained resource officers in schools to prevent and respond to violent incidents like school shootings.

“That’s her position,” Cotton added. “She’s consistently taken positions against law enforcement throughout her career as a San Francisco liberal. If that police officer hadn’t been there, and Kamala Harris had gotten her way, many more students and teachers might have been killed.”

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The back-and-forth exchange has gone viral, with conservatives rallying behind Cotton’s strong defense of law enforcement in schools.

The discussion comes after a tragic shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia, where the shooter’s mother had warned authorities just hours before the attack. The father of the 14-year-old gunman has since been charged with second-degree manslaughter for providing his son with a hunting rifle.

During a rally last week, former President Donald Trump also addressed the issue, calling the shooter a “monster” and vowing to “heal our world” if elected. “It’s a sick and angry world for a lot of reasons, and we’re going to make it better,” Trump said. “We’re going to get rid of all these wars that are starting all over the place because of incompetence.”

As the debate over school safety, mental health, and gun control rages on, Cotton’s exchange with Dana Bash highlights the ongoing divide between Republicans and Democrats on how best to protect American schools and students.