WASHINGTON — President Obama called the shooting rampage that left 50 dead at an LGBT nightclub in Orlando “an act of terror and an act of hate,” in a five-minute address Sunday afternoon.
“As Americans we are united in grief and in outrage and in resolve to defend our people,” Obama said, as he noted that gunman Omar Mateen‘s motivations are not fully known, while he directed the FBI to “spare no effort” to find any terrorism associations.
“This is sobering reminder that attacks on any American – regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation – is an attack on all of us and on the fundamental values of equality and dignity that define us as a country,” Obama said. “No act of hate or terror will ever change who we are or the values that make us Americans.”
Obama made the brief address at around 2 p.m., after meeting with FBI Director James Comey.
Vice President Biden canceled his trip to Miami to fundraise for Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and instead will return to Washington.
Obama, recalling previous mass shootings, said the massacre was a reminder of how easy it is “for someone to get their hands on a weapon that allows them to shoot people in a school, in a house of worship, or in a movie theater or in a nightclub.
“We have to decide if that’s the kind of country we want to be. And to actively do nothing is a decision as well.”
Obama directed flags to be lowered to honor the victims and called for Americans to reject hate.
“In the face of hate and violence, we will love one another,” Obama said. “We will not give into fear or turn against each other, instead we will stand united, as Americans, to protect our people and defend our nation and to take action against those who threaten us.”
Meanwhile, Donald Trump took to Twitter Sunday to say he was “right” about warning about the danger of radical Islamic extremists — but didn’t want his supporters to pat him on the back.
“Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism, I don’t want congrats, I want toughness & vigilance. We must be smart!,” tweeted Trump, who has called for a ban on Muslims from entering the US and the destruction of ISIS.
Mateen, 29, had been on the FBI’s radar as an ISIS sympathizer and called 911 to pledge allegiance to the terrorist group prior to a shootout with police. Mateen opened fire around 2 a.m. Sunday at Pulse nightclub, an LGBT hot spot, in a rampage that killed 50 and injured at least 53.
Trump also called on Obama to resign for not mentioning Islamist extremism.
“Is President Obama going to finally mention the words radical Islamic terrorism? If he doesn’t he should immediately resign in disgrace!”
The mogul drew quick rebuke on Twitter.
“@realDonaldTrump You’re congratulating yourself because 50 people are dead this morning in a horrific tragedy?” tweeted Meghan McCain, daughter of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
Meanwhile, top Trump surrogate Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) also called for tougher screenings of Muslims coming into the United States.
“It certainly looks like another one of the extremist attacks, Islamic extremism,” Sessions (R-Ala.) told Fox News Sunday.
Sessions said the rampage will mean “further movement in the direction Donald Trump has set forth.”
“It’s not stopping, as we see apparently today,” Sessions said. “More of these attacks are coming. It’s a real part of the threat that we face. … We need to slow down and be careful about those we admit into the country.”
Democrats quickly called for stricter gun control after police said Mateen use an AR-15 style-rifle along with a handgun during the slaughter.
“He had an AR-15, an assault weapon,” New York Sen. Charles Schumer said Sunday. “It is very easy to get these kinds of guns in Florida. … We have to get tougher on guns. We can’t have incident after incident after incident after incident. And in this country it is so easy for so many people to get these kinds of assault weapons whose only purpose is to shoot a whole lot of people.”
Similar to Obama, Hillary Clinton on Sunday called the shooting an “act of terror” and “also an act of hate” against the LGBT community during Pride Month.
The presumptive Democratic nominee also urged more gun control saying the massacre reminds “us once more that weapons of war have no place on our streets.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders also called for an assault weapons ban.
“We should not be selling automatic weapons which are designed to kill people,” the Democratic presidential candidate told “Meet the Press.”