Trump: Orlando Proved Me Right on Terrorism

Critics bash his response as 'self-congratulations'
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 13, 2016 7:09 AM CDT
Trump: Orlando Proved Me Right on Terrorism
Donald Trump smiles during a rally on June 2.   (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

While President Obama deemed the massacre at Pulse nightclub in Orlando an "act of terror and an act of hate," the man looking to fill his shoes took a different approach. "Really bad shooting in Orlando. Police investigating possible terrorism," Donald Trump tweeted Sunday, shortly before tweeting, "Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism, I don't want congrats, I want toughness & vigilance. We must be smart!" per Reuters. "What has happened in Orlando is just the beginning. Our leadership is weak and ineffective. I called it and asked for the ban [on Muslim immigration]," he tweeted. "I am trying to save lives and prevent the next terrorist attack. We can't afford to be politically correct anymore," he added, per the Washington Post. He's expected to elaborate during a speech on Monday.

Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, chose a more "conventional" route, showing the "disparity" that "encapsulates the choice facing voters this fall," as the Post puts it. "Woke up to hear the devastating news," she tweeted before calling on the US "to redouble our efforts to defend our country from threats at home and abroad," "keep guns like the ones used last night out of the hands of terrorists or other violent criminals," and ensure people aren't targeted because of their sexual orientation. Clinton's communications director dismissed Trump's response—which drew wide criticism, including from George Takei and John Legend, per Time—as "political attacks, weak platitudes, and self-congratulations. Trump has offered no real plans to keep our nation safe and no outreach to the Americans targeted, just insults and attacks." (More Pulse Orlando shooting stories.)

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