Politicians condemn Fla. club shooting
Politicians from both parties swiftly condemned Sunday's mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub, although within hours of the incident their reaction split largely along partisan lines.
Hillary Clinton postponed her planned joint rally with President Obama in Green Bay, Wis., which was scheduled to be held Wednesday, citing “the tragic attack.” In a statement, she decried the shooting as both “an act of terror” and “an act of hate.”
“For now, we can say for certain that we need to redouble our efforts to defend our country from threats at home and abroad,” Clinton said. “That means defeating international terror groups, working with allies and partners to go after them wherever they are, countering their attempts to recruit people here and everywhere, and hardening our defenses at home. It also means refusing to be intimidated and staying true to our values.”
But while Clinton and other Democrats spoke of the need for further firearms restrictions and decried the targeting of members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, Republicans emphasized the threat homegrown terrorism poses.
But several Republicans, including presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, said the shooting underscored how the federal government has not done enough to curb the threat of terrorism. Most Republican officials did not mention that the gunman targeted a gay nightclub.
Trump, who tweeted that it was “horrific” and he was “praying for all the victims & their families,” also questioned why it had not been prevented. “When will this stop? When will we get tough, smart & vigilant?” he tweeted. An hour later, he reiterated his criticism of the administration's national security stance.
About an hour after that, Trump called some attention to his own warnings about terrorism, tweeting: “Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism, I don't want congrats, I want toughness & vigilance. We must be smart!”
Later, Trump tweeted that Obama should “immediately resign in disgrace” if he did not mention the words “radical Islamic terrorism.”
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said in a statement that he and his staffers were prepared to offer constituent services for those affected by the attack, but emphasized government officials must focus on stamping out domestic terrorism wherever possible.
He headed to Orlando on Sunday. “Confronting the threat of violent homegrown radicalization is one of the greatest counterterrorism challenges our law enforcement and intelligence community faces,” Rubio's statement said. “We must do more at every level of government and within our own communities to identify and mitigate this cancer on our free society and prevent further loss of life.”
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Obama called on Americans not to “give into fear or turn against each other” even as authorities investigated what they are treating as a domestic terror incident.
As the federal probe got under way, politicians suggested that the motive would probably ignite a new debate on at least one of several hot-button topics: gay rights, terrorism or gun control.
“Our hearts ache for all those killed in this senseless attack, and we pray for the swift recovery of all those who were wounded,” said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). “While many questions have yet to be answered, the pain of this attack in a mainstay of the Orlando LGBT community is surely magnified as our nation celebrates LGBT Pride month.”
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., the only openly-gay U.S. senator, posted on Facebook: “This was not only a horrific attack on the LGBT community, it was an attack on the freedoms we all hold dear.”
Others put the threat of domestic terrorism front and center in their comments.
Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said in a statement Sunday he believed the strike was linked to the Islamic State, the Mideast extremist group also known as ISIs or ISIL. “I have spoken with the FBI and there appears to be a link to Islamic radicalism. I have conferred with additional sources and they think there is likely a connection with ISIS,” he said.
