by
Rep. Debbie Dingell
Donald Trump, in wake of the Orlando massacre on Sunday, used little restraint on Monday, delivering a speech in New Hampshire about terrorism, sharply attacking President Barack Obama and presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton.
It triggered a strong reaction from Democratic Michigan Congresswoman Debbie Dingell.
“Donald Trump’s hateful speech today is further evidence that he is seeking to divide this country at a time when we must be united against evil," Dingell said in a statement. "In the days following September 11, it was the worst of times, but also a time that a Republican President pulled us together to ensure that we were united in defending what America stands for. Freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and being a melting pot for multiple cultural and national backgrounds are fundamental principles on which this nation was founded."
Trump, in his speech at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., renewed his call to temporarily ban Muslims from coming into the U.S., and said Clinton and the president were making this country weak in the eyes of the world.
He said:
Hillary Clinton, for months, and despite so many attacks, repeatedly refused to even say the words radical Islam until I challenged her yesterday. And, guess what, she will probably say them. She sort of has said them, but let's see what happens. She really has no choice, but she doesn't want to.
However, she's really been forced, and she has been forced to say these words. She supports, and the reason is, she supports so much of what is wrong, and what is wrong with this country, and what's going wrong with our country and our borders. She has no clue, in my opinion, what radical Islam is and she won't speak honestly about it if she does, in fact, know. She's in total denial, and her continuing reluctance to ever name the enemy broadcasts weakness across the entire world -- true weakness.
And he went on to attack the president:
Truly our President doesn't know what he's doing. He's failed us and he's failed us badly. Under his leadership this situation will not get any better, it will only get worse. And I've been saying that for a long time. Each year the United States permanently admits 100,000 immigrants from the Middle East and many more from Muslim countries outside of the Middle East. Our government has been admitting ever- growing numbers, year after year, without any effective plan for our own security.
Dingell also sharply criticized his attack on Muslims.
Muslim members of my Michigan community are as American as any I know. This weekend I spent significant time with the family of a young man of Muslim faith who lost his life in the Marines and only wanted to serve the country he loved. Donald Trump’s ban on Muslim immigration betrays American values and is dangerous. Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”
