The Alabama lawmaker who captivated CNN viewers around the world with a powerful eyewitness account of Wednesday’s shooting attack on members of Congress returned to “New Day” Friday to thank the officer whose courage saved so many lives.
“I’ll always remember him and the sacrifice and the courage he showed on behalf of the United States Congress, the staff and the people who were there,” Rep. Mo Brooks said of Capitol Police Officer David Bailey, who fired back at the assailant despite being wounded himself.
The Republican congressman’s voice cracked as he recalled thanking Bailey in person at the Congressional Baseball Game Thursday night.
“Something compelled me to go over there,” said Brooks. “I asked him if I could hug him. He said yes.”
Reflecting on the heroism also shown by his congressional colleagues on the field that morning, Brooks said he hoped the American people had noticed.
“The humanity there was something I hope the American people will carry with them as they try to understand this distinction between when we’re in that political arena and trying to communicate about public policy ideas and … the rest of our lives and how we interact with each other on a friendly basis outside of that political discourse,” he said.
Then lightening the mood, Brooks joked that the bipartisanship mood that permeated Thursday night’s pregame activities came to an abrupt halt the moment the first pitch was hurled.
“Democrats just abused us,” he said. “It was an 11-2 beating. I asked before the game if the Democrats would be easy on us. They assured us they would be. By golly, once that first pitch was thrown, that bipartisanship was gone.”
