Hillary Clinton on Tuesday slammed Donald Trump for his “shameful” comments in the wake of the Orlando terrorist attack, and the former first lady also used her campaign speech to renew calls for a national ban on assault weapons.
Speaking at a labor union hall in Pittsburgh, Mrs. Clinton again called Mr. Trump “temperamentally unfit” and “unqualified” to be president. She also said his recent comments about President Obama — interpreted by some as Mr. Trump implying the president sympathizes with terrorists — are further evidence he cannot be commander in chief.
“Even in a time of divided politics, this is way beyond anything that should be said by someone running for president of the United States,” Mrs. Clinton said in her second national security address over the past two days. “What Donald Trump is saying is shameful. It is disrespectful to the people who were killed and wounded and their families, and it is yet more evidence that he is temperamentally unfit and totally unqualified to be commander in chief.”
Mr. Trump’s Monday remarks on Fox News have sparked yet another backlash against the billionaire businessman and seem to have created a political opening for Mrs. Clinton.
“Look, we’re led by a man that either is not tough, not smart, or he’s got something else in mind. And the something else in mind — you know, people can’t believe it,” Mr. Trump said, referring to Mr. Obama’s policies to combat terrorists.
Mrs. Clinton hopes to use the comment as part of a broader strategy to paint Mr. Trump as both fully unfit to be president while also a serious danger to the nation.
“We don’t need conspiracy theories and pathological self-congratulations. We need leadership, common sense and concrete plans, because we are facing a brutal enemy,” she said.
The former secretary of state also argued Tuesday that the Orlando massacre should once and for all end the debate about assault weapons in America.
“This man had been investigated by the FBI for months, but we couldn’t stop him from buying a powerful weapon that he used to slaughter Americans in large numbers,” she said. “Let’s get this straight: We’ve reached the point where people cannot board airplanes with full bottles of shampoo, but people being watched by the FBI for suspected terrorism can buy a gun with no questions asked? That’s absurd.”
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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