Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump face politically treacherous terrain in the aftermath of the deadly terrorist attack in Orlando that left at least 50 Americans dead and scores more injured.
The presumptive presidential nominees for the Democratic and Republican parties will be compelled in the days ahead to discuss and react to the mass shooting inside a gay nightclub in Florida.
That is especially true given the facts surrounding the strike, as they were being reported late Sunday.
The Islamic State is taking responsibility; it was committed by an American born-Muslim U.S. citizen of Afghan heritage who had previously been investigated for terrorist ties; and he used sophisticated, automatic firearms.
What would Clinton and Trump do if a similar act occurred on their watch? What is their strategy to defeat ISIS and prevent future domestic terrorism? Should gun new control measures be considered? What about the perpetrator’s ethnic and religious background?
It’s almost impossible for Clinton and Trump to avoid politics.
Voters want to know their plans to keep them safe. And, as national leaders, one of whom is almost assuredly going to be elected president in November, the demands of their positions require their participation in the conversation about what to do next.
But if voters decide that Clinton or Trump are injecting politics into the situation, the results for their campaigns could be disastrous.
And, each step they take in coming days risks Americans interpreting their reactions as an attempt to advance politically on the backs of the largest mass shooting in U.S. history and worst terrorist attack on American soil since Sept. 11, 2001.
“Campaigns have to be very measured, especially when there is limited information and law enforcement or others directly involved in a major incident are still assessing the situation,” a GOP strategist said. “The pressure to say something comes immediately, but the pressure to shift towards a policy debate, while inevitable, has to be very carefully deliberated and managed.”
A Democratic operative, who also requested anonymity in order comment for this story, concurred.
“You want your message to get out but you also want to do no harm — either to the victims or to your campaign,” this Democratic communications strategist said. “That could come in the way of grandstanding, spreading inaccurate information, or doing something that is essentially capitalizing on tragedy.”
Four years ago, Mitt Romney discovered firsthand the blowback that can cripple a campaign that the public and the media deem ill-informed and too political in its reaction to a national security crisis. Then it was the Sept. 11, 2012, terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that left four Americans dead, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.
In his initial comments on the Benghazi attacks, Romney was critical of Obama and labeled the event as a terrorist act. Subsequent revelations would ultimately affirm much of Romney’s comments. But he was blasted by Democrats and Republicans alike for criticizing Obama too soon, before all of the facts were known, and for trying to exploit the attack for political gain.
It turned out to be among the more damaging moments of Romney’s campaign.
In the immediate aftermath of the Orlando attacks, Trump appeared to be opting for aggressive over measured, political over presidential. The New York businessman and reality television star, 69, spent Sunday tweeting and re-tweeting politically charged comments about the shooting.
That theme continued in a lengthy, prepared statement issued just before 5 p.m. ET in which Trump said that “we can’t afford to be politically correct anymore.”
Trump did express sympathy for the victims, the wounded and their families, and closed with his pledge to make the homeland safe for all Americans. But in between, he rained attacks on President Obama, Clinton, and Muslim immigrants, while taking credit for predicting that attacks like this would happen.
“In his remarks today, President Obama disgracefully refused to even say the words ‘Radical Islam’. For that reason alone, he should step down. If Hillary Clinton, after this attack, still cannot say the two words ‘Radical Islam’ she should get out of this race for the presidency,” Trump said.
Clinton’s approach was the exact opposite. To be sure, the former secretary of state under Obama, 68, didn’t avoid politics altogether. But Clinton, who was serving as a New York senator on Sept. 11, 2001, was textbook for a measured response that was cautious about getting ahead of the facts and did it’s best to avoid offensive politicking.
At 9:20 a.m. ET, Clinton posted her only Tweet. It expressed sympathy for the victims but making clear she wanted more information before commenting further. She posted a Spanish translation of that tweet an hour later.
At 2:45 p.m. ET, Clinton issued a lengthy statement condemning the shooting as an act of terror and act of hate. She said that the U.S. must redouble efforts to defeat enemies of America “at home and abroad” and examine what can be done to keep guns out of the hands of criminals.
Clinton didn’t mention Trump or the 2016 campaign. Later Sunday, her team announced that it was postponing its first rally with Obama, which has previously been scheduled for Tuesday in Green Bay, Wis.
“This is a time to stand together and resolve to do everything we can to defend our communities and country,” Clinton said, adding:
“The gunman attacked an LGBT nightclub during Pride Month. To the LGBT community: please know that you have millions of allies across our country. I am one of them … Finally, we need to keep guns like the ones used last night out of the hands of terrorists or other violent criminals.”
