Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at a rally, in Lynwood, California, June 6, 2016. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Hillary Clinton said Monday she wasn’t shying away from using the term “radical Islamism” to describe the attack in Orlando and that she has a plan to address the threat. But, she added, singling out a specific religion and trying to demonize its followers won’t protect the United States from the next attack.
Her likely Republican opponent, Donald Trump, has criticized US President Barack Obama for not using the term and suggested political correctness hurts Democrats’ ability to go after terrorists.
Clinton, in a phone interview Monday, told NBC “Today” that she has a plan to defend the nation from “lone wolf” attacks. But “I’m not going to demonize and demagogue” like Trump because “it’s plain dangerous.”
The FBI says 49 people were left dead, plus gunman Omar Mateen, in the shooting inside a crowded gay nightclub in Orlando early Sunday.
Orlando police officers seen outside of Pulse nightclub after a fatal shooting and hostage situation on June 12, 2016 in Orlando, Florida. The suspect was shot and killed by police after 50 people died and more than 50 injured. (Gerardo Mora/Getty Images/AFP)
Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee, also called for tougher restrictions on certain types of firearms, like the assault-style rifles used in the terror attacks in Orlando and San Bernardino, California, which she termed “weapons of war.”
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Donald Trump speaks at a rally in San Diego on May 27, 2016. (JTA/Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
The United States shouldn’t fall into the “trap set by the gun lobby” that suggests if you can’t stop all shootings, you don’t try to stop any, she said.
If elected, Clinton said she would push for laws that prevent people on America’s no-fly list from buying weapons.
Clinton said she would also set up a federal team dedicated exclusively to addressing “lone wolf” attacks and work closer with technology companies to prevent “online radicalization.”
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Clinton made her remarks on NBC “Today” and CBS “This Morning.”
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