Story highlights
Trump argued that fewer gun restrictions would have lessened the death toll
Trump also slammed President Barack Obama for arguing for action to change existing gun laws
Donald Trump didn’t mince words Friday as he addressed the Orlando terrorist attack, referring to the gunman as a “son of a b—-” and arguing that guns in civilian hands could have mitigated the carnage.
“If we had people, where the bullets were going in the opposite direction, right smack between the eyes of this maniac,” Trump said, gesturing between his eyes. “And this son of a b—- comes out and starts shooting and one of the people in that room happened to have (a gun) and goes boom. You know what, that would have been a beautiful, beautiful sight, folks.”
Trump argued, as he often has in the wake of terrorist attacks and mass shootings, that fewer gun restrictions would have lessened the death toll.
Trump also slammed President Barack Obama for arguing for action to change existing gun laws in the wake of the mass shooting in Orlando.
“President Obama is trying to make terrorism into guns and it’s not guns, folks. It is not guns, folks. It is not guns, this is terrorism,” Trump said.
But Trump’s remarks on Friday also come days after he himself floated the idea of preventing individuals on the no-fly list and terror watch list from being able to purchase guns, a proposal Obama and other top Democrats have called for in the days since the Orlando attack.
Trump did not mention that proposal on Friday night, instead touting his endorsement from the National Rifle Association – which is opposed to the proposal – and arguing he will be a better defender of the Second Amendment than presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
“Nobody will protect your Second Amendment like Donald John Trump,” the billionaire said.