INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

Clinton Campaign Blasts Trump For Tooting Horn In Wake Of Florida Mass Shooting

By Bradley Ryder
Published on: 14:05 PST, Jun 12, 2016

Donald Trump is digging a deeper hole in his political campaign for president and risks turning some red states to blue.

The Republican presumptive nominee for the 2016 Elections is already under fire from several news outlets, social media critics, and GOP operatives for controversial comments made in wake of the Florida mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub. Sunday, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the first woman to clinch the Democratic nomination in a major election, chimed in on his rhetoric.

According to a Clinton campaign spokesperson, Donald Trump, who was recently criticized by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for not knowing a lot about the issues, is indicting Islam, per se, over the deadly shooting and is allegedly patting himself on the back for “being right.”

JUST IN: Clinton campaign’s @jmpalmieri responds to Trump statement on Orlando shooting: pic.twitter.com/jQGTmKOT6u

— Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner) June 12, 2016

Palmieri was referring to Trump’s supposed banal comments about the weekend domestic terror killings in which the alleged shooter of Afghan descent killed in the name of Islam and ISIL. Meanwhile, the real estate mogul took a targeted approach in his response, but with little emphasis on the victims and survivors, according to several critics. According to Business Journal, Trump used the shooting at Pulse nightclub to attack Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

In a string of tweets, Trump doubled down on his stance against radical Islam by reiterating his earlier calls for a Muslim ban “until we can figure out what the hell is going on.” Trump attacked Clinton and Obama for not being tough on terrorism, and suggested both are not qualified to be President of the United States if they cannot declare a connection between the recent mass shootings and Islam.

McConnell recently shared critical remarks about the presumptive Republican nominee during a Bloomberg Politics podcast.

“He needs someone highly experienced and very knowledgeable because it’s pretty obvious he doesn’t know a lot about the issues. You see that in the debates in which he’s participated. It’s why I have argued to him publicly and privately that he ought to use a script more often—there is nothing wrong with having prepared texts.”

Clinton called the Orlando mass shooting an “act of terror.” She took what some say was a more presidential approach to the horrific incident in Orlando. In a tweet, Secretary Clinton offered condolences to the families and appealed to the public to wait for additional facts before jumping to conclusions.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders also spoke about the mass killings. The Democratic presidential hopeful injected his ongoing stance on gun control and the need for radical change in current laws on the books.

“It’s horrific, it’s unthinkable, and my hopes go out to all those who were shot that they can recover. And I’ve got to tell you, 25 years ago, I believe that in this country, we should not be selling automatic weapons which are designed to kill people. We have got to do everything that we can on top of that to make sure that guns do not fall into the hands of people who should not have them – criminals, people who are mentally ill.”

In Clinton’s statement, she also referred to Sunday morning’s shooting as a “hate crime.” In suggestions of a bipartisan approach, Clinton called for stringent gun legislation and unity across party lines, race, and religious affiliation. She pledged support for the LGBTQ community and advocated support from all public officials to unite against terrorism.

Unlike Trump, Clinton is specifically against the rise of ISIS and other Islamic extremist groups, and does not denounce Islam as a religious practice — or Muslims in general.

Apparently, Clinton stands with Senator Sanders with respect to a ban on assault rifles or “weapons of war” as she referred to it in her statement on the shooting.

[Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images]

Share this article: Clinton Campaign Blasts Trump For Tooting Horn In Wake Of Florida Mass Shooting
More from Inquisitr