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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
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Amber Jamieson (now) and Tom McCarthy (earlier) in New York

Trump: 'I will suspend immigration' from many countries as president – campaign live

Trump renews call for ban on Muslim refugees after Orlando shooting

Summary

And that’s all from us today folks. Just a little recap of what happened today on the campaign trail.

  • Donald Trump said he will suspend immigration from many countries if elected president.“When I’m elected I will suspend immigration from areas of the world where there’s a record of terrorism against the United States, Europe or our allies.”
  • Trump said of the Orlando gunman - who was born only a few miles from Trump in Queens, New York - “The only reason that the killer was in America in the first place was that we allowed his family to come here.”
  • Trump revoked The Washington Post’s press credentials to cover his campaign, claiming the newspaper - which he dubbed “phony and dishonest” gave “incredibly inaccurate coverage” to him.
  • In response, executive editor Marty Baron declared that: “The Post will continue to cover Donald Trump as it has all along – honorably, honestly, accurately, energetically, and unflinchingly.”
  • And Hillary Clinton - yes, it’s not all Trump - spoke of the need to build stronger alliances between Middle East countries to stop the movement of jihadists and the need for tougher restrictions on guns. “If the FBI is watching you for suspected terrorist links, you should not be able to just go buy a gun with no questions asked. And you shouldn’t be able to exploit loopholes and evade criminal background checks by buying online or at a gun show. And yes, if you’re too dangerous to get on a plane, you are too dangerous to buy a gun in America.”

Tomorrow is the DC primary.

The Ted Cruz and Jeb Bush campaigns knew they were doomed from September last year, according to revealing new interviews. The Huffington Post interviewed campaign managers from Cruz, Bush and Marco Rubio’s campaign on what it was like to go up against Donald Trump - and lose.

The interview reveals some fascinating insight into the running of campaigns, such as the biggest regrets (for the Cruz campaign, it was not fighting harder in Missouri and North Carolina, states he lost by only a few thousand votes) and how they expect the RNC will be this year.

Jeff Roe, Cruz’s campaign manager, also seems sure that Trump getting the Republican nomination is thanks to a media set-up:

I believe that there were financial decisions made in media suites on who they wanted to have as a nominee and what they would do to him after he became a nominee. I don’t think all of this is accidental. I really don’t.

All three decline to endorse Trump.

A lot of reporting today - including in this very blog - is simply rebutting some of the mistruths that Donald Trump said in his speech on national security and immigration, such as claiming that refugees entering the US are not vetted (they are) and that the Orlando gunman (who was born in Queens, New York) was “born Afghan.”

Olivia Nuzzi, a reporter at the Daily Beast who today wrote on some of those same lies, tweets about how reporting on Trump is now just about listing his mistruths.

Tomorrow night, following the DC primary, the last remaining primary before November’s general election, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton will sit down for a chat.

The Washington Post may have lost its press credientials to cover Donald Trump, but that isn’t stopping reporters going after him.

Jenna Johnson, who has been following Trump on the campaign trail, wrote about how Trump spreads conspiracies by just implying it’s what other people are saying - including that President Obama is a secret Muslim:

Trump frequently couches his most controversial comments this way, which allows him to share a controversial idea, piece of tabloid gossip or conspiracy theory without technically embracing it. If the comment turns out to be popular, Trump will often drop the any distancing qualifier — “people think” or “some say.” If the opposite happens, Trump can claim that he never said the thing he is accused of saying, equating it to retweeting someone else’s thoughts on Twitter.

And another article, by Karen Tumulty and Robert Costa, decrying “Trumpism”:

Trumpism is not defined by any set of policies, or an ideology. It is not handcuffed to coherence or consistency, except in its disregard for what its adherents deem to be political correctness.

Trumpism is a personality-fueled movement that has proven, against the smart money’s predictions, to be in tune with the frustrations of a significant slice of the electorate.

House speaker Paul Ryan is getting a lot of flack lately - first for not supporting the presumptive nominee of his own party, then for backing Trump while still declaring his comments racist.

Paul Nehlen, a fellow Republican who is challenging Ryan for his seat, just released an ad criticizing Ryan - a representative from Wisconsin - over his failure to tighten border security in Texas.

The ad, titled “This isn’t going to stop Isis,” looks at parts of the border between the United States and Mexico which are easily crossed.

The National Rifle Association made its first comments since the terror attack in Orlando, Florida over the weekend became the most deadly mass shooting in US history.

NRA director Chris Cox tweeted his opposition to president Obama and presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s calls for tighter gun control.

Clinton today called specifically for gun control against assault weapons and said suspected terrorists should not be able to buy a gun without background checks.

I believe that weapons of war have no place on our streets...If the FBI is watching you for suspected terrorist links, you should not be able to just go buy a gun with no questions asked. And you shouldn’t be able to exploit loopholes and evade criminal background checks by buying online or at a gun show. And yes, if you’re too dangerous to get on a plane, you are too dangerous to buy a gun in America.

A decade ago a lawsuit accused Donald Trump’s Trump Organization of deleting emails to hide evidence, according to a report by USA Today.

Trump regularly criticizes Hillary Clinton for having her own personal email server and deleting emails while working as Secretary of State. But he’s also had issues with email retention, says USA Today:

In 2006, when a judge ordered Donald Trump’s casino operation to hand over several years’ worth of emails, the answer surprised him: The Trump Organization routinely erased emails and had no records from 1996 to 2001. The defendants in a case that Trump brought said this amounted to destruction of evidence, a charge never resolved.

At that time, a Trump IT director testified that until 2001, executives in Trump Tower relied on personal email accounts using dial-up Internet services, despite the fact that Trump had launched a high-speed Internet provider in 1998 and announced he would wire his whole building with it. Another said Trump had no routine process for preserving emails before 2005.

Judge Jeffrey Streitfeld was stunned. “He has a house up in Palm Beach County listed for $125 million, but he doesn’t keep emails. That’s a tough one,” he said, according to transcripts obtained by USA TODAY.

Hillary Clinton is rebutting Trump’s speech about suspending immigration, with a statement from campaign spokesman John Podesta. It reads:

Donald Trump’s speech offered some disturbing insights into the dangers of a Trump White House. Nothing in his rambling remarks came close to resembling a real strategy for fighting terrorists and keeping our people safe. Indeed nothing in his speech would have done anything to stop this killer. Prejudice, paranoia and partisanship are not a plan, and will not protect anyone.

After the statement is a list of tweets from different journalists who have fact-checked and reported on issues in Trump’s speech. And, I’m sure it’s no coincidence that the very first tweet listed is by Jenna Johnson, the Washington Post reporter who wrote the story that resulted in Trump revoking WashPo’s media credentials.

More pics of Bernie Sanders, surrounded by Secret Service, as he attends a vigil in Burlington, Vermont, in honor of the Orlando terror attack victims.

Sign up for experimental mobile alerts for the DC primary

Be part of an experiment by the Guardian Mobile Innovation Lab as we test web notifications during the Washington DC Democratic presidential primary on Tuesday 14 June.

We’ll be sending experimental notifications providing live results for the Democratic candidates as they come in throughout the night. Web notifications are currently only available on Chrome, so if you have an Android mobile phone (Samsung, included!), we hope you’ll sign up.

Click here to sign up for the experiment.

Trump just released a statement on revoking the media credentials of the Washington Post, decrying that that publication - which has won 45 Pulitzer Prizes in its history - has “no journalistic integrity.” The statement reads:

The Washington Post unfortunately covers Mr. Trump very inaccurately. Today’s headline, “Donald Trump Suggests President Obama Was Involved With Orlando Shooting” is a perfect example. We no longer feel compelled to work with a publication which has put its need for “clicks” above journalistic integrity.

They have no journalistic integrity and write falsely about Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump does not mind a bad story, but it has to be honest. The fact is, The Washington Post is being used by the owners of Amazon as their political lobbyist so that they don’t have to pay taxes and don’t get sued for monopolistic tendencies that have led to the destruction of department stores and the retail industry.

Bernie Sanders, who hasn’t yet dropped out of the presidential race, appeared this evening at a vigil for the Orlando terror attack in his hometown of Burlington, Vermont.

Only a few minutes after Donald Trump revoked the press credentials of the Washington Post because of, he said, its “incredibly inaccurate coverage,” the presumptive GOP nominee tweeted out an article about the Orlando terrorist.

Except, that New York Post article Trump tweeted is simply aggregated content and is attributed to an originally reported article by... the Washington Post.

Trump has a history of banning press outlets whose coverage he disagrees with during this campaign.

Since 140 characters doesn’t give much space to write out names, here’s a handy guide:

  • HuffPo = Huffington Post
  • NR = National Review
  • MoJo = Mother Jones
  • DMR = Des Moines Register
  • WaPo = Washington Post

Washington Post responds to Trump ban

Executive editor of the Washington Post Marty Baron - famously depicted in the film Spotlight as the editor who pushed coverage of sexual abuse coverups in the Catholic Church - has responded to Trump revoking the publication’s press credentials to cover his campaign.

“Donald Trump’s decision to revoke The Washington Post’s press credentials is nothing less than a repudiation of the role of a free and independent press,” said Baron in a statement.

“When coverage doesn’t correspond to what the candidate wants it to be, then a news organization is banished. The Post will continue to cover Donald Trump as it has all along – honorably, honestly, accurately, energetically, and unflinchingly. We’re proud of our coverage, and we’re going to keep at it,” reads the statement.

Jenna Johnson, the Post’s Trump correspondent, hasn’t said anything on Twitter about the ban yet. But her colleagues are weighing in. National correspondent Mark Berman called Johnson “an actual national treasure”.

The Post’s national political correspondent Philip Rucker just retweeted the below message.

In Johnson’s most recent article on Trump, published just a few hours ago, she points out that Trump is seemingly trying to connect President Obama to the massacre in Orlando.

Writes Johnson:

For months, Trump has slyly suggested that the president is not Christian and has questioned his compassion toward Muslims. Years ago, Trump was a major force in calls for the president to release his birth certificate and prove that he was born in the United States. On the campaign trail, Trump has repeatedly stated as fact conspiracy theories about the president, his rivals and Muslims, often refusing to back down from his assertions even when they are proven to be false.

From The Guardian’s Ben Jacobs in regards to Trump banning the Washington Post from his events.

Trump revokes Washington Post press credientials

Donald Trump has revoked the press credentials of Washington Post today, preventing the newspaper from attending future Trump events.

Here’s some headlines and stories from today’s Washington Post that Trump may have not agreed with.

Updated

Hillary Clinton’s campaign is using their “hate is not the answer to hate artwork across all different social media platforms, with an Instagram post noting that demonizing Muslims for the Orlando terror attack “plays into the hands of ISIS and other jihadist terrorists.”

A little fact check on Donald Trump’s speech today calling for tighter immigration restrictions, where he said that Hillary Clinton wants to increase refugees without screening.

“She now plans to massively increase admissions without a screening plan, including a 500% increase of Syrian refugees. Tell me, how stupid is that? ... Under the Clinton plan, you’d be admitting hundreds of thousands of refugees from the Middle East,” said Trump.

But refugees currently go through a significant screening process, that takes between a 12-18 months on average (even longer for people from countries such as Syria, where security screening takes around two years). As Politifact reports:

“...once a case is referred from the UNHCR to the United States, a refugee undergoes a security clearance check that could take several rounds, an in-person interview, approval by the Department of Homeland Security, medical screening, a match with a sponsor agency, ‘cultural orientation’ classes, and one final security clearance. This all happens before a refugee ever gets onto American soil.”

The former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, just days after emotionally speaking out about his frustrations at Donald Trump as GOP presidential nominee, tweeted his support of the LGBT community in light of the Orlando terror attack at an LGBT nightclub.

Considering Romney’s comments came shortly after Trump’s speech calling for tighter immigration restrictions, it’s a particularly interesting contrast in attitudes between the two foes.

Hillary Clinton’s team responded quickly on Twitter to Trump calling on new restrictions on immigration in light of the Orlando terror attack.

Here’s another spot where Trump improvised a bit, where he claimed the president would have the ability to unilaterally end immigration from certain countries.

Remarks as prepared:

The immigration laws of the United States give the President the power to suspend entry into the country of any class of persons that the President deems detrimental to the interests or security of the United States, as he deems appropriate.

Remarks as delivered:

...by any class of persons that the president deems detrimental to the interests or security of the United States, as he or she deems appropriate. Hopefully it’s he in this case.

Here’s a subtle point we missed earlier. Trump suggested that his stance on immigration made him a better friend “of women and the LGBT community” than Hillary Clinton:

Ask yourself, who is really the friend of women and the LGBT community, Donald Trump with his actions, or Hillary Clinton with her words? Clinton wants to allow Radical Islamic terrorists to pour into our country—they enslave women, and murder gays.

I don’t want them in our country.

Assertion: “Clinton wants to allow Radical Islamic terrorists to pour into our country.”

Factcheck: Likely not?

Trump: full transcript (as prepared)

Trump’s remarks as prepared are here. But he improvised a bit. For example at the end of these lines:

Her plan is to disarm law-abiding Americans, abolishing the 2nd amendment, and leaving only the bad guys and terrorists with guns. She wants to take away Americans’ guns, then admit the very people who want to slaughter us.

Trump added:

let them come in, let them have all the fun they want.

Updated

Ok, digging into Trump’s speech to weed out the biggest whoppers. Here’s a start:

Here’s what Trump said at the very top of his address:

Trump promised to deliver his originally planned speech later.

Trump equates the threat of Islamic terrorism with “communism during the cold war”.

He concludes by expressing “our solidarity with the people of Orlando.”

He says he’ll protect all Americans, “wherever they come from, wherever they were born, I don’t care”.

America will be a tolerant and open society. America will also be a safe society. We will protect our borders at home. We will fight Isis overseas, we have no choice...

We will make America rich again. We will make America safe again. We will make America great again.

Thank you. Thank you very much everybody.

Trump is describing a plan for punishing people who are aware of terror threats but fail to report the threat to authorities. He says that “anyone who knew something and didn’t tell us” should be brought to justice.

“Our new goal must be to defeat Islamic terror, not nation building, no more nation building, it’s never going to work.”

Updated

Trump asks rhetorically who is the better friend to women and the “LBGT” [sic] community, him or Clinton:

I will tell you who the better friend is, and someday, I believe, that will be proven out, bigly.

Trump says “The Muslim community’s so important.”

They have to work with us... and turn in the people who are bad. And they know it.... I want every American to succeed, including Muslims, but they have to work with us... they know what’s going on. They knew that he was bad... but they didn’t turn him in. And we had death and destruction.

The Orlando shooter was not an unknown quantity. He was interviewed at least twice by the FBI.

Updated

Trump says he will install an attorney general and secretary of defense “who know how to fight the war on radical Islamic terror”.

He says “the American people must have the information they need”. He says that a senate subcommittee asked the Obama administration to provide the immigration history of “all individuals implicated in terrorist activites of any kind since September 11th. So important. The public has a right to know... why are they here?

We have to screen applicants to know whether they are affiliated with or support radical beliefs. ... and we have to prevent large pockets of radicalization from forming inside the United States of America...

Truly our president doesn’t know what he’s doing. He’s failed us and he’s failed us misearbly... each year the United States admits 100,000 immigrants from the Middle East and Muslims from other countries...

She now plans to massively increase admissions without a screening plan, including a 500% increase of Syrian refugees. Tell me, how stupid is that? ... Under the Clinton plan, you’d be admitting hundreds of thousands of refugees from the Middle East.”

“We have to stop the tremendous flow of Syrian refugees into the United States,” he says. The US has accepted fewer than 2,000 Syrian refugees.

Trump says “we’re letting hundreds of thousands of people in and it’s only making the problem worse.”

Trump: 'I refuse to be politically correct'

“When it comes to radical Islamic terrorism, ignorance is not bliss,” Trump says.

He says “we have no intelligence gathering information...we don’t have the support of the law enforcement system because Obama is not allowing them to do their job.

“We need a new leader, we need a new leader fast. They have put political correctness above common sense, above your safety and above all else. I refuse to be politically correct... the days of deadly ignorance will end. And they will end quickly if I am president.”

Trump: Clinton 'wants to take away America's guns'

Trump attacks Clinton, saying “she wants to take away America’s guns and then admit the very people who want to slaughter us... let them come in, let them have all the fun they want”.

Hillary Clinton... repeatedly refused to say the words “radical Islam, until I challenged her yesterday, and guess what, she will probably say them... she has no choice. She supports so much of what is wrong... and what’s going wrong... she has no clue what radical Islam is, and she won’t speak honestly about it if she does in fact know.

Trump says Clinton broadcasts weakness to the world. Speaking of weak –weak applause for this passage attacking Clinton.

So she says the solution is to ban guns. They tried that in France... and 130 people were brutally murdered... Her plan is to disarm law-abiding Americans, abolish the second amendment, not gonna happen folks:

She wants to take away America’s guns and then admit the very people who want to slaughter us... let them come in, let them have all the fun they want’

“I refuse to allow America to become a place where gay people, Christian people, Jewish people, become a target... this is not just a national security issue, it’s a quality-of-life issue,” Trump says.

He says, “we need to tell the truth about radical Islam and we need to do it now... to tell the truth about how radical Islam is coming to our shores. And it’s coming.”

Trump: 'I will suspend immigration' from many countries

Trump says “This is a very dark moment in our nation’s history. A radical Islamic terrorist targeted a nightclub... it’s an assault on the ability of a free people to live their lives... on the right of every single American to live in peace and safety.

We need to respond ... as one united people.”

But, Trump says, the current “politically correct response cripples our ability” to responsd.

“If we don’t get tough, and we don’t get smart, and fast, we are not going to have a country anymore.”

Trump says that the shooter “was born an Afghan of Afghan parents who emigrated to the United States..” The shooter was an American born in New York.

“The only reason that the killer was in America in the first place was that we allowed his family to come here.”

“If I get in there, it’s going to change and it’s going to change quickly. We’re going from totally incompetent to just the opposite, believe me. ... We cannot afford to talk around the issues anymore. We have to address these issues head on.”

“I called for a ban after San Bernardino... although the pause is temporary, we must find out what is going on. We have to do it. It will be lifted, this ban,” when we figure out how to screen immigrants “perfectly,” Trump says.

Trump says the president has the power to halt immigration “by any class of persons... as he or she deems appropriate. Hopefully it’s he in this case. I will use this power to protect the American people.”

Trump : “When I’m elected I will suspend immigration from areas of the world where there’s a record of terrorism against the United States, Europe or our allies... and by the way, we have no choice.”

Trump on Orlando: 'such a disgrace'

Trump is talking. “Today there is only one thing to discuss. The growing threat of terrorism inside of our borders.”

He calls the Pulse attack “the worst strike on our soil since September 11 and the worst mass shooting in our history.”

“So much carnage. Such a disgrace. The horror is beyond description... the families of these people are totally devastated, and they will be forever.”

Trump asks for a moment of silence “for the victims of this attack.”

Trump at St Anselm, a selected guest list:

Guardian politics reporter Ben Jacobs is at the Trump event at St Anselm college. It’s a small event, lacking, incidentally, Republican senator Kelly Ayotte, who is up for reelection and has said she will vote for Trump but not all-out “support” him or “endorse” him – in a meaningless distinction she apparently hopes will hold meaning of some sort for voters on the fence.

Updated

Trump takes a break from watching himself on TV to congratulate the Pittsburgh Penguins on their hockey victory:

(h/t: @bencjacobs)

Updated

Trump to speak

Donald Trump is to speak shortly about the Orlando attack, in an event at the New Hampshire institute of politics at St Anselm college. A live video stream is here:

The Guardian’s Sabrina Siddiqui will be filing a story shortly on the Clinton rally in Cleveland. For a preview, visit her Twitter TL:

Updated

Wrong politics oracle Bill Kristol, who predicted that Joe Biden would run for president, who predicted that Donald Trump would peak in December 2015 and who predicted that Barack Obama would not win a single primary against Hillary Clinton, now predicts that Elizabeth Warren will not be selected as Clinton’s running mate. So, mark it:

(h/t: @bencjacobs)

Clinton: 'time to get back to the spirit' of 9/12

Clinton calls, kind of awkwardly, insofar as many people might not want to take this particular trip down memory lane, for a return to the day after the September 11 attacks:

“I remember how it felt on the day after 9/11, and I bet many of you do as well. Americans from all walks of life rallied together with a sense of common purpose... we had each other’s backs. I was a senator... there was a Republican president, a Republican governor, and a Republican mayor. We did not attack each other. We worked together... President Bush went to a Muslim community center just six days after the attacks...

“It is time to get back to the spirit of those days. The spirit of 9/12.”

That’s her conclusion – she’s applauded off.

Clinton says Muslim ban proposal is counterproductive

Clinton is on to her third point for action.

3) prevent recruitment by Isis of Americans, and prevent the spread of indoctrination and the dissemination of poisonous ideology. “It is long past time for Saudis, Qataris, Kuwaitis and others to stop their citizens from funding extremist organizations,” and from funding radical schools and mosques, Clinton says. Use all capabilities to counter jihadist propaganda online. Work with tech companies to step up our game. “We have to do a better job at intercepting Isis communications.”

She says that local leaders, teachers and communities must develop education to recognize signs of radicalization.

Clinton now turns to attack Trump’s proposed Muslim ban. She does not name him:

“We should avoid eroding trust in that community, which inflammatory anti-Muslim rhetoric and threatening to ban the family and friends of Muslim American, and millions of Muslim business people, hurts the vast majority of Muslims who love freedom and hate terror. So does saying that we have to start special surveillance of fellow Americans based on their religion... it plays right into the terrorists’ hands.”

But we shouldn’t close eyes to the fact that enemies use a distorted version of Islam, Clinton says. She says the attack on the Orlando LGBT community came out of hatred and bigotry. “And an attack on any American is an attack on all Americans.”

“From Stonewall to Laramie and now Orlando, we’ve seen too many examples of how the struggle to live freely, openly and without fear has been [hit] by violence”.

Clinton says openness is an asset not a liability. “America is strongest when we all believe that we have a stake in our country and our future...

“We are not the land of winners and losers, we should all have the opportunity.. and we have a responsibility to help others as well.”

“E Pluribus Unum, out of many, one, has seen us through our darkest chapters of our history,” Clinton says.

Clinton calls for restrictions on assault weapons

Clinton says that taking ground from Isis is not enough. “As president I will make identifying and stopping lone wolves a top priority.” She says she’ll put a team together from across the government and private sector “to get on top of this urgent challenge”.

She lays out three areas for action:

1) Dismantle the networks that move money, propaganda, arms and fighters around the world. Stem the flow of jihadists to Middle East in back. This requires stronger alliances

2) Harden defenses at home. Do more to support first responders, law enforcement and intelligence officers. In Orlando at least one police officer was shot in the head. Thankfully his life was saved by a Kevlar helmet. “These men and women deserve both our respect and gratitude.” She calls for better access at the state level to intelligence collected by the federal government, and more protections for so-called soft targets – night clubs, malls, schools, churches. She says that the shooter was “on the FBI’s radar”. She says that the investigation could reveal insights that must be followed.

Also, stop terrorists from getting the tools they need to carry out the attacks. “That is especially true when it comes to assault weapons, like those used in Orlando and San Bernardino.

Sustained applause.

“I believe that weapons of war have no place on our streets...If the FBI is watching you for suspected terrorist links, you should not be able to just go buy a gun with no questions asked. And you shouldn’t be able to exploit loopholes and evade criminal background checks by buying online or at a gun show. And yes, if you’re too dangerous to get on a plane, you are too dangerous to buy a gun in America.”

In Orlando and San Bernardino, terrorists used assault weapons... and they used it to kill Americans. That was the same assault weapon used to kill those little children in Sandy Hook.

Updated

Clinton: 'coalition effort in Syria and Iraq has made gains'

Clinton turns to the intentions of “radical jihadists” and their acts of barbary in the Middle East, “Paris, Brussels and San Bernardino.”

“The attack in Orlando makes it even more clear: we cannot contain this threat. We must defeat it. .. the coalition effort in Syria and Iraq has made gains in recent days.”

She says the US should ramp up the air war in Syria and Iraq.

“As Isis loses actual ground in Iraq and Syria, it will seek to wage more attacks.”

“There’s a lot we still don’t know” about the attack and the shooter, and his motives, Clinton says. She frames the attack squarely as an “act of terror”, though – not a “mass shooting.”

“As a mother, I can’t imagine what those families are going through. But let’s also imagine some of those other scenes that we saw on Sunday,” Clinton says. She mentions first responders and survivors who lent assistance.

“This is a moment when all Americans need to stand together... the murder of innocent people breaks our hearts, tears at our sense of security, and makes us furious.”

Clinton says she wants to talk about how to respond.

“The Orlando terrorist may be dead, but the virus that poisoned his mind remains very much alive. And we must attack it.”

SHe mentions “pride” in our country and values.

Clinton: Orlando attack an 'act of terror'

“It is good to be back in Cleveland,” Clinton says. She thanks Brown for his introduction. Brown’s name has been batted about as a possible Democratic vice presidential pick. Clinton extends condolences at the death of former Ohio governor and senator George Voinovich.

Then Clinton turns to Orlando. She calls it an “act of terror”:

Today is not a day for politics. On Sunday Americans woke up to a nightmare... another act of terror in a place no one imaged.”

Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio has just introduced Clinton, who is approaching the lectern. The Guardian’s Sabrina Siddiqui is in the crowd:

Clinton to speak in Cleveland

The Guardian’s Sabrina Siddiqui is in Ohio for a Hillary Clinton event set to begin at midday.

Update: here’s a live stream of the event:

Updated

Clinton out with first TV ad of general election

In her first TV ad of the general election, published online on Saturday, Hillary Clinton casts the presidential election as “a choice about who we are as a nation”.

The ad splices footage of Donald Trump saying he wants to punch a protester, saying he wants to “knock the crap out of” a protester, and of Trump mocking a reporter with arthrogryposis.

The ad then calls for a reinvigorated economy.

“What kind of America do we want to be? Dangerous and divided or strong and united?” Clinton says in voiceover.

‘Who we are’.

Obama calls Orlando attack home-grown extremism

The president is addressing media at the White House. He says the Orlando attack was another example of the threat of “home-grown extremists”. The Orlando shooter, Obama says, “was able to purchase his weapons legally”, including “an assault rifle”. “It was not difficult for him to obtain these kinds of weapons”, Obama says.

Obama says the country must fight terrorist organizations while taking domestic measures such as strengthening gun safety laws, “to make sure that it’s not easy for somebody who wants to do harm... that it’s not easy to obtain weapons”.

Obama calls for sobriety in “how we approach this problem”. He extends sympathies to families of those who were affected and thoughts to the injured.

Here’s comedian Louis CK speaking with Vulture about the presidential candidates:

Democrats renew push to keep people on watch lists from buying guns

“Senate Democrats are renewing their push to keep people on terrorist watch lists from buying firearms,” reports Niels Lesniewski of Roll Call:

Sen. Charles E. Schumer will be leading a noon call Monday along with several Democratic colleagues, including Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat who has been in Orlando.

Lesniewski explains that the Democrats’ move is “a reprise of an effort” that was voted down by Republicans last December. Read his report for the legislative nitty gritty.

Sen. Mark S. Kirk, R-Ill., was the only Republican to cross over and vote in support of Feinstein’s measure, while Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota was the only member of her caucus to oppose it.

The LA Times reported that Orlando shooter Omar Mateen had been “taken off” a terror watch list.

He was subsequently removed from that database after the FBI closed its two investigations, one official said.

Here’s minority leader Harry Reid’s deputy chief of staff:

Updated

Trump complains he’s not being treated fairly on TV:

Clinton-Obama event postponed

The Hillary Clinton campaign announced at the weekend that a rally with Barack Obama had been postponed due to the Orlando attack. The presumptive nominee and the president were to campaign together Wednesday in Wisconsin.

Clinton has also canceled a Cincinnati fundraiser:

Donald Trump canceled a fundraiser in Boston in response to the attack, but he will speak this afternoon about national security at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at St Anselm College. The event is scheduled to begin at 2.30pm ET.

Rubio thinking about 'where you can be most useful'

Marco Rubio, the Florida Republican who did not run for reelection to his US senate seat in order to mount an ill-fated bid for the presidency, has resisted questions by conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt about whether he will reconsider a Senate run after the Orlando attack. Rubio would have to decide before a 24 June registration deadline.

“I haven’t thought about it from a political perspective, but it most certainly has impacted my thinking in general about a lot of things...” Rubio told Hewitt. “I really don’t want to link the two things right now, I really don’t want politics to intrude... My family and I will be praying about this.”

At a news conference in Orlando on Sunday.
At a news conference in Orlando on Sunday. Photograph: Kevin Kolczynski/Reuters

Rubio said, however, that the attack had given him “pause to think a little bit about your service to your country and where you can be most useful to your country”:

Orlando attack prompts guns debate

The deadliest mass shooting in US history has opened a debate on the campaign trail over a possible assault weapons ban and other gun control measures. Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said “we know the gunman used a weapon of war” and called for “commonsense gun reform”.

“We can’t fall into the trap set up by the gun lobby that says if you cannot stop every shooting you shouldn’t try to stop any,” Clinton said.

President Bill Clinton signed an assault weapons ban in 1994 but it was allowed to lapse in 2004.

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump opposes gun control measures including the reinstitution of an assault weapons ban, he told NBC, explaining that “there are millions of them already out there”.

Update: The bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives said the gunman used a .223 caliber AR-type rifle. Orlando police said the gunman shot at police “with two handguns”.

Updated

Trump: 'I've been right'

In his Fox News appearance, Trump said that the attack in Orlando by an American on a gay club vindicated his views on national security threats and counter-terrorism.

“I’m getting thousands of letters and tweets that I was right about the whole situation,” Trump said.

“I’ve been right about a lot of things,” he added. “I’m calling for strength. I’m calling for intelligence.”

He was not specific about what he was “right about” or how “strength” and “intelligence” would prevent mass shootings by US citizens who legally purchased weapons.

He insisted that the presumptive Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, won’t say “radical Islam” because “she’s afraid to mention it because her boss will be angry at her.”

Trump 'there's something going on'

In the appearance on the Fox and Friends program in which Trump said, in reference to the Orlando attack, that perhaps the president “gets it better than anyone understands”, Trump further embroidered his web of conspiracy by saying minutes later that “people can’t believe” how Barack Obama responds to attacks and “there’s something going on”.

Here’s Business Insider editor Oliver Darcy:

The Guardian has asked the Trump campaign for clarification of the presumptive nominee’s comments. No response yet.

For the latest news on the Orlando attack, you can follow our live blog here:

Hello and welcome to our live-wire coverage of the 2016 race for the White House. On Monday morning, in the wake of the deadliest mass shooting in US history, Donald Trump repeated his call for the resignation of Barack Obama because the president, the presumptive Republican nominee said, “doesn’t get it or he gets it better than anyone understands”.

Speaking on the Fox and Friends program, Trump appeared to imply that Obama had some kind of knowledge about the shooting in Orlando, Florida, or of other attacks:

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a Guardian request for clarification. We’ll see what more we can find out.

Hillary Clinton also spoke this morning about the Orlando attack, saying she was “happy” to refer to such an attack as “radical Islamism”, as well as “radical jihadism”, which is the phrase she had been using. (While the shooter in Orlando reportedly made reference to the Islamic State group in a phone call with authorities, the extent to which he may have been affiliated with any jihadist group is unclear; an ex-wife said he was religious but not radical and had aspired to be police officer.)

Clinton’s use of the “radical Islamism” phrase is a departure from the preferred rhetoric of Obama, who has said that talking about jihadist attacks in terms of religion plays into the attackers’ hands. Read further here.

Trump on Monday also called for a ban on people from Syria, despite the shooter in the Orlando incident having been born in New York to parents from Afghanistan. “We have to have a ban on people coming in from Syria, coming in from different parts of the world with this philosophy,” he said.

When host George Stephanopoulos pointed out that the shooter was American-born, Trump did not change his analysis:

No that’s right, but we have many people coming in whose hate is equal to his, and just as bad, and even worse, frankly. And we have to stop people from coming in...

Trump has planned a speech this afternoon at St Anselm College in New Hampshire, about national security issues. He has deleted an early morning tweet in which he touted a TV appearance to talk about “a very bad event”:

Updated

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