Responding to the mass shooting in Orlando, Fla., Donald Trump on Monday expanded his call to temporarily ban Muslim immigration to the U.S. during a speech in Goffstown.
“We cannot continue to allow thousands upon thousands of people to pour into our country, many of whom have the same thought process as this savage killer,” said Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee.
It was Trump’s first visit to New Hampshire since winning the primary. The speech at Saint Anselm College came a day after 29-year-old Omar Mateen opened fire with an assault-style rifle inside a crowded gay nightclub in Orlando, killing at least 49 people before dying in a gunfight with police.
Even though Mateen was a U.S. citizen and born in New York, Trump cast the massacre as an immigration issue and called on the country to control its borders. He pointed out that the shooter’s parents emigrated from Afghanistan.
“The only reason the killer was in America in the first place was because we allowed his family to come here,” said Trump, who read from teleprompters throughout the 30-minute speech.
Trump reiterated his call for a temporary ban on Muslims coming to the U.S. until the government can “properly and perfectly” screen immigrants. And he expanded it, saying he would use presidential discretion to “suspend immigration from areas of the world when there is a proven history of terrorism against the United States, Europe or our allies, until we understand how to end these threats.”
Hillary Clinton was more measured in her own remarks, saying that demonizing all Muslims for the actions of a few would only benefit extremist groups. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee blamed American partners in the Middle East – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar – for not stopping terror funding emanating from their countries and called for tougher gun control legislation in the U.S., including outlawing assault weapons like one used by the Orlando shooter.
“I believe weapons of war have no place on our streets,” Clinton said. Though she drew implicit contrasts with Trump, the Democrat never mentioned him by name, saying, “Today is not a day for politics.”
Trump’s New Hampshire speech was originally billed as one targeting Clinton and her record. But following the Orlando massacre, Trump shifted the focus to national security and postponed a Portsmouth rally planned for Monday evening.
Few top New Hampshire Republicans attended the invite-only event, and the roughly 100-member audience was made up mostly of longtime Trump supporters, including former U.S. senator Scott Brown.
Trump has drawn mixed reactions among the state’s GOP leaders, from cautious support to outright rejection. The businessman drew some his strongest criticism – including from U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte – following his original call last December to bar Muslims from entering the U.S.
Neither Ayotte nor U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta attended the speech; both of them were in Washington, D.C. But Ayotte doubled down on her opposition to the ban, saying in a statement “there should not be a religious-based test for entering our country.” She did say the country needs “to strengthen the vetting of foreigners who want to come here based on the facts and specific threats they pose to make sure they don’t have ties to ISIS.”
Two of the four Republican gubernatorial candidates attended the speech, but they declined to comment directly on Trump’s national security stances.
Trump’s New Hampshire supporters in the audience agreed with many of the businessman’s characterizations – that radicalized Muslims are at war with the U.S. and should be barred from coming here.
“These people want to kill us. Who’s next? You? Me?” said Republican state Rep. Al Baldasaro, a Londonderry Republican.
Even some who hadn’t supported Trump in the New Hampshire primary were swayed.
Former New Hampshire House speaker Bill O’Brien, who backed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and has been critical of Trump in the past, walked away from the speech confident in the Republican’s national security approach.
“We can’t talk about gun control, we can’t be fooling ourselves that there’s just individuals who are causing problems, but rather we’re at war with people who want to kill us,” said O’Brien, a Mont Vernon Republican. A temporary ban on Muslim immigration is “a matter of being sensible,” he said, not “prejudice.”
The ban wouldn’t have stopped Mateen, and attendees offered few prescriptions for how to combat homegrown terrorism. Some echoed Trump’s calls for people within Muslim communities to cooperate with law enforcement and turn in people he said “they know are bad.”
“It’s rare these people come out of nowhere,” said Mark Vincent, chairman of the Hillsborough County Republican Committee. “What Mr. Trump said about working with Muslim communities to ferret out these bad apples and take care of them before they can attack, that is exactly the right tone.”
State Rep. Frank Edelblut, a Republican candidate for governor, wouldn’t comment on Trump’s national security policies, instead saying he is “immersed in the New Hampshire race.” He did say he was encouraged to hear Trump talk about “getting jobs going and the economy,” which Trump mentioned briefly, and said that he “is going to try and make the nation safe.”
Meredith state Sen. Jeanie Forrester, who supported Carly Fiorina in the primary and is also running for governor, walked out of the event talking on her phone and did not take reporter questions.
Two other Republican gubernatorial candidates didn’t attend. Executive Councilor Chris Sununu was invited, but had several conflicting meetings he couldn’t reschedule, a campaign spokesman said. Similarly, Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas, a Republican also running for governor, didn’t attend because he had official mayoral business. “Donald Trump’s comments are his own,” Gatsas said. “I am focused on running my own race.”
New Hampshire has just four electoral votes, but it is expected to be one of several battleground states in the presidential contest.
Trump hammered Clinton in the speech, saying gun control is not the answer. The Republican also said Clinton could not claim to be an ally of the LGBT community if she supports immigration from the Muslim world, where he said gays and lesbians often face discrimination.
“Ask yourself, who is really the friend of women and the LGBT community: Donald Trump with actions, or Hillary Clinton with her words?” Trump said. However, the businessman has said he opposes same-sex marriage – the official position of the Republican Party – while Clinton and Democrats support it.
The Republican did not repeat suggestions he made in earlier television interviews that President Obama may not be taking tougher action against terrorism because he may sympathize with the perpetrators.
Clinton said her anti-terror efforts would center on identifying “lone wolf” attackers – those who may be radicalized but not connected to a broader network or carrying out plans on behalf of any group. Obama said Monday that the Orlando attacker appeared to fall into that category.
Clinton also voiced support for tougher gun control measures, a policy proposal that has been a centerpiece of her presidential campaign. In addition to her call for an assault weapons ban, Clinton also said Americans should be able to agree that “if the FBI is watching you for a suspected terrorist link, you shouldn’t be able to just go buy a gun with no questions asked.”
The FBI said Mateen had come to its attention twice in the past, but neither investigation revealed any definitive links to terror groups or plots. Mateen legally bought at least two firearms in the last week or so, according to federal officials.
Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan said Monday there is no known or immediate threat to the people of New Hampshire. But she said that the state is working with local authorities to provide “additional presence and resources particularly including at Laconia Motorcycle Week and at destinations like Hampton Beach.”
(The Associated Press contributed to this story.)