In terrorism speech Obama goes after Trump’s rhetoric, tweets, radical Islam stance
In a forceful anti-terrorism speech Tuesday, President Obama said the ideals by which we live are our strength when fighting enemies.
“Our message is clear if you target America and our allies you will not be safe,” Obama said. “You will never be safe.”
It started as a speech to combat terrorism, then the president shifted focus to Donald Trump.
Obama never mentioned Trump by name, instead going after his ideas and tweets like this one just hours after the Orlando attack, that called for Obama’s resignation.
“There’s no magic to the phrase radical Islam, it’s a political talking point, it’s not a strategy,” Obama said. “Calling a threat by a different name doesn’t make it go away.”
Obama hammered the GOP presumptive presidential nominee’s proposal to enact a temporary ban on Muslims coming to the United States.
Obama said Omar Mateen, the gunman who pledged allegiance to ISIS during the Sunday morning attack was born in New York.
“If we fall into the trap of painting all Muslims with a broad brush and imply we are at war with an entire religion, than we are doing the terrorists work for them,” he said.
Campaigning in Pittsburgh Tuesday, Hillary Clinton supported the president’s comments directed at her likely opponent.
“Trump is as usual obsessed with name calling and from my perspective it matters what we do, not just what we say,” Clinton said.
A terrorism expert and foreign affairs professor at UCCS calls Trump’s proposed ban and his rhetoric a threat to national security.
“The rhetoric is playing directly into ISIS’ hands,” professor Edin Mujkic said. “Not only ISIS, but every other terrorist organization that has the United States on our radar.”
Former FBI profiler Pete Klismet does not believe the attack in Orlando is linked to ISIS. In a statement to our newsroom he wrote: “I think we’re making a big mistake by trying to paint this as something it isn’t. Even ISIS had no clue who he was, and their reaction on social media was surprise about the shootings.”
