Both Presidential candidates and most major political players were quick to react to the tragic events today in Orlando, Florida, mostly via social media.
Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump began Sunday morning, first by referring to the terrorist attack as a “really bad shooting”:
And a Tweet that cited a current lack of vigilance:
Then, hours later, he began directly linking the attack to Islamic terrorism, reminding his followers of his longtime stand on the issue (Trump has called for a ban on all Muslims immigrating to the US; the alleged shooter was American-born to Afghan immigrants).
As the afternoon bore on, Trump called on President Obama to resign and cited an unconfirmed report that the shooter had shouted in Arabic before opening fire:
He also issued a long statement taking President Obama and Hillary Clinton to task for “weakness”, and promising to crack down on both immigration and terrorism. He again called for President Obama to resign.
Trump followed up late Sunday with further foreign policy comments. He has also reportedly changed his Monday speech, set to be on Hillary Clinton, to focus on foreign policy.
Hillary Clinton by contrast was initially more reserved in her approach, choosing to express her condolences to family and friends of the victims without tying the tragedy to broader issues:
Clinton later, in an afternoon interview called the shooting an “act of terror,” echoing President Obama’s earlier statements. She also called for greater oversight of gun sales and a stronger policy combatting ISIS recruitment, stressing both foreign and domestic policy changes were needed.
She Tweeted less frequently than Trump, and in her Tweets did not use the words “Islamic” or “Muslim”.
Later Clinton statements switched focus, stressing gun control more forcefully.
Bernie Sanders, who is still running for President, told Meet the Press that the attacks were “horrific.” Like some of his Congressional colleagues, he quickly segued into a discussion about gun rights and gun control, addressing his previous support for bans on selling automatic weapons. “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 those who should not have them: criminals, people who are mentally ill.” Sanders said. “So that struggle continues.”
Rep. Chris Murphy, the Congressman who represents Newtown, Connecticut, where 20 children were killed in a mass shooting several years ago, was one of the few lawmakers to be openly vocal about addressing gun control in the wake of the Orlando shootings.
Sen. Marco Rubio, who represents Florida, offered his prayers:
He also, in later Tweets, asked that residents in and around Orlando give blood as soon as possible.
Vice President Joe Biden issued a statement Sunday evening thanking first responders and promising the full attention of the Federal government.