A tragedy in the middle of a presidential race would typically force restraint on candidates. But this tradition has disappeared in the era of the superheated, social media news cycle, where mass shootings immediately set off debates about access to guns and, if the perpetrator is Muslim, terrorism.
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump on Sunday pounced on the news of the massacre at an Orlando gay nightclub to underscore his presidential campaign’s central message — that the United States needs to be tougher to combat terrorism.
“When will this stop?” Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, wrote in a Twitter post shortly before noon. “When will we get tough, smart & vigilant?”
About an hour later, he amplified that point, writing: “Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism, I don’t want congrats, I want toughness & vigilance. We must be smart!”
With the federal authorities describing the shooting as an act of terrorism and identifying the gunman as a U.S. citizen born to Afghan parents, Trump demanded that President Obama portray the deadliest mass shooting in American history as an example of homegrown jihad.
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“Is President Obama going to finally mention the words radical Islamic terrorism?” Trump wrote on Twitter shortly before Obama’s remarks Sunday afternoon. “If he doesn’t he should immediately resign in disgrace!” (Obama called the assault “an act of terror,” but focused his remarks chiefly on the loss of lives.)
A tragedy in the middle of a presidential race would typically force restraint on candidates. But this tradition has disappeared in the era of the superheated, social media news cycle, where mass shootings immediately set off debates about access to guns and, if the perpetrator is Muslim, terrorism.
Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, initially responded with caution Sunday morning, offering on Twitter her thoughts to those affected “as we wait for more information.”
But after Obama spoke, she issued a longer statement echoing the president: “This was an act of terror.”
In her statement, Clinton said that “we need to redouble our efforts to defend our country from threats at home and abroad” and further down called for more stringent restrictions on guns.
“Finally, we need to keep guns like the ones used last night out of the hands of terrorists or other violent criminals,” she said.
Her rival for the nomination, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the killings were “unthinkable,” and he called for more robust gun control. But, breaking with Clinton, he later issued a statement saying: “At this point we do not know whether this was an act of terrorism, a terrible hate crime against gay people or the act of a very sick person.”
The Orlando massacre could test how willing candidates and their supporters are to pursue partisan attacks in the aftermath of horrific violence.
Both Trump and Clinton were expected to lacerate each other in major speeches planned for Monday. Trump was expected to focus on what he sees as the Clintons’ ethical lapses, and Clinton was preparing remarks on what she deems as Trump’s dangerous demagoguery. They did not indicate on Sunday afternoon that they intended to postpone those speeches, and Trump issued a media advisory noting that he will deliver an address Monday in New Hampshire.
Trump pays little heed to the conventions of politics, whether it is on how campaigns are waged or on the kinds of positions his party embraces.
He has made his hard line against Muslims central to his campaign, and, even after claiming the Republican nomination and turning to a broader electorate, he has refused to back off from his call to temporarily ban Muslims from traveling to the United States.
He has faced heavy criticism for this stance from Clinton and numerous Republicans, but Trump has repeatedly used language similar to his Twitter post in declining to soften his position.
“We have to be vigilant,” he said in an NBC interview last month after claiming the Republican nomination. “We have to be strong. We have to see what’s going on.”
And as recently as Friday, Trump used an address to a Christian conservative group to criticize Clinton for refusing “to even say the words radical Islam.”
“This alone makes her unfit to be president,” he said.