The White House ripped New Yorker writer Jane Mayer after she said that two National Guard members, one who was killed and another critically wounded in a Wednesday shooting, were deployed in the nation’s capital purely for “political show.”

The incident occurred just blocks from the White House in what law enforcement officials described as an “ambush attack.” Shortly after the news broke, Ms. Mayer, a veteran investigative journalist known for reporting that is hostile to conservatives, posted her reaction on X.

“This is so tragic, so unnecessary, these poor guardsmen should never have been deployed,” Ms. Mayer wrote. “I live in DC and watched as they had virtually nothing to do but pick up trash. It was for political show and at what a cost.”

The White House communications director, Steven Cheung, issued a direct and forceful rebuke to Ms. Mayer a few hours later.

“Jane, respectfully, shut the f— up for trying to politicize this tragedy,” Mr. Cheung posted, with the expletive included. “They were protecting DC and trying to make the nation’s capital safer.” He added, “People like you who engage in ghoulish behavior lose all credibility. Not like you had any to begin with.”

The White House’s rapid response account quickly shared Ms. Mayer’s post, condemning her remarks. “You sick, disgusting ghoul. Two of these heroes were just SHOT IN BROAD DAYLIGHT. The Guard has saved countless lives — backed up by evidence (which you’re clearly too stupid to notice). They are American Patriots,” the account posted.

The assistant director for public affairs at the FBI, Ben Williamson, also condemned Ms. Mayer’s response. “If you sat down and tried to come up with a disgraceful response it would be damn near impossible to hit this level. Two guardsmen shot in broad daylight and you not only blame their deployment but then lie to trash and downplay their successful service. Delete your account,” he wrote on X.

Other public figures also weighed in on Ms. Mayer’s comments. Florida’s attorney general, James Uthmeier, wrote: “All these sick people on the Left do is blame the victims. I’m thankful for our guardsmen and praying for them and their families as they keep protecting the peace.” And Steven Law, former chief of staff to Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, wrote, “Only Jane Mayer would blame the deployment instead of the crazed killer who pulled the trigger.”

After the barrage of criticism, Ms. Mayer expressed sympathy for the victims in a later post, writing, “It’s [a] tragedy. Sorry that’s so hard for some people to see. My heart goes out to the families of the victims.”

For the record, homicides are down 29 percent in 2025 from 2024, according to the Metropolitan Police Department in the district. “The drop in crime has been historic,” the secretary of war, Pete Hegseth, said on Wednesday as he announced that the Trump Administration is deploying an additional 500 National Guard troops to the city.

“The increase in safety and security has been historic. But if criminals want to conduct things like this — violence against America’s best — we will never back down. President Trump will never back down. That’s why the American people elected him.”

But Ms. Mayer questioned that, too. “I’ve covered crime in Washington since 1981 — let’s skip the mansplaining. You can play with the stats but homicides were dropping before the troops got here,” she wrote on X.

That brought more criticism. “When presented with obvious stats that show the National Guard made a difference in public safety, the ‘journalist’ calls it ‘mansplaining,'” wrote Matt Whitlock, a former GOP official.

Another anti-Trump Washington-based journalist, an MS NOW correspondent, Ken Dilanian, was also blasted by the White House for his reaction to the shooting.

“Of course, you know, there’s so much controversy happening in the United States right now with ICE, who are also wearing uniforms and wearing masks,” Mr. Dilanian said on the network formerly known as MSNBC on Wednesday. “And so there’s — you don’t know — people walking around with uniforms in an American city. There are some Americans that might object to that. And so apparently this shooting has happened.”

The Rapid Response 47 account responded, “two heroes were just shot protecting our nation’s capital — and this is your takeaway? Democrats have relentlessly demonized these Patriots, calling them ‘illegal’ and even suggesting THEY might start shooting Americans. Get help. You are beyond sick.”

Following the shooting, President Trump posted that the “animal” responsible “will pay a very steep price.” Law enforcement sources have identified the suspected shooter as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who is now in custody after being severely wounded during the incident.