WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump quickly seized on Tuesday's deadly attack in New York to promote immigration restrictions and to criticize his chief Democratic rival, New York Sen. Charles E. Schumer.
Trump's immediate labeling of the attack as a terrorist act and his calls for policy actions contrasted with his responses to the violence and a killing by white supremacists in Charlottesville, Va., in August _ Trump wouldn't blame the neo-Nazis solely and said then he doesn't rush to discuss incidents without the facts _ and to the mass killings in Las Vegas on Oct. 1, after which he said it was too soon to discuss gun laws.
"The terrorist came into our country through what is called the 'Diversity Visa Lottery Program,' a Chuck Schumer beauty. I want merit based," Trump tweeted.
Trump's Wednesday morning tweets followed a report from ABC News that the man apprehended in the New York attack, Sayfullo Saipov, came to the United States in 2010 through the diversity lottery program, which is designed to increase legal immigration from countries with lower numbers of migrants.
Trump is trying to end the program and many conservative outlets have seized on Tuesday's attacks to criticize the program and Schumer.
Two of Trump's Wednesday tweets referenced Fox News, an indication he was probably watching the cable news channel, his routine in the morning.
He first tweeted on Tuesday night, soon after the incident, saying he "ordered Homeland Security to step up our already Extreme Vetting Program," the subject of extensive litigation since Trump took office. Trump did not offer specifics and it is unclear how different vetting procedures would have affected Saipov's case.
Schumer responded on Twitter hours later: "I guess it's not too soon to politicize a tragedy."
