In an interview with Fox News this Monday, GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan pushed back against criticism of a recent tweet where he said that the Texas church shooting victims “need our prayers.”

“It’s disappointing. It’s sad, and this is what you’ll get from the far secular left. People who do not have faith, don’t understand faith, I guess I’d have to say,” Ryan told Fox host Laura Ingraham.

“And it is the right thing to do, is to pray in moments like this because you know what? Prayer works,” he added.

“And I know you believe that and I believe that,” Ryan continued. “And when you hear the secular left doing this thing, no wonder you’ve got so much polarization and disunity in this country when people think like that.”

In the wake of the shooting carried out by Devin Patrick Kelley which killed 26 people in a Texas church this Sunday, Ryan drew some heat on Twitter after tweeting, “Reports out of Texas are devastating. The people of Sutherland Springs need our prayers right now.”

Reports out of Texas are devastating. The people of Sutherland Springs need our prayers right now. — Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) November 5, 2017

Many saw Ryan’s words and just more of the same: meaningless calls for ‘thoughts and prayers’ without any real action.

Your words mean nothing. — Catherine Handley (@CEHandley) November 5, 2017

They were doing their own praying…IN CHURCH. DO SOMETHING! — AndyCohensFanPage (@LoveAndyC) November 5, 2017

Please resign. — Chrisna (@chrisna) November 5, 2017

They needed your action last year…do nothing! Hurry! — daydayb (@daydayb) November 5, 2017

You will be remembered as a complicit weak criminal who was controlled by lobbyists and these 27 peoples lost lives is your direct fault — adam pally (@adampally) November 5, 2017

They were in church. They had the prayers shot right out of them. Maybe try something else. — Michael McKean (@MJMcKean) November 5, 2017

According to The Friendly Atheist‘s Hemant Mehta, this is just more typical “Republican thinking”:

That’s Republican thinking for you right there: The people who hear the facts, examine the evidence, and demand action are to blame for polarizing the country… while the people in charge, the ones who sit on their asses doing absolutely nothing (at least when they’re not voting to make the problems worse), should get credit for being the vanguards of everything right with America.

Watch Ryan’s interview with Laura Ingraham below:

Featured image via screen grab