The Trail 2016: A defining moment

Welcome to THE TRAIL 2016, your daily rundown from The Hill on all the latest news in the White House, Senate and House races. 

In the wake of deadliest shooting in U.S. history that killed 49 people, presumptive nominees Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump delivered dueling speeches that addressed the carnage at a gay nightclub in Orlando and contrasted their views on how to combat domestic terrorism. 

During her speech, Clinton called for stricter gun control measures, particularly on assault weapons and said those on the FBI terror watch list should not be able to obtain a gun.

She also pledged to go after “lone wolves,” people who become radicalized on their own and vowed to create a task force to take on this issue. 

She also took veiled shots at Trump — without naming him — and condemned his “inflammatory, anti-Muslim rhetoric – and threatening to ban the families and friends of Muslim Americans, as well as millions of Muslim business people and tourists from entering our country.” 

But the former secretary of State took a more hawkish tone during an earlier interview, noting that she’s “happy to say either” radical jihadism or radical Islamism. She’s previously steered clear of using the latter term, which Trump has chided both her and President Obama for refusing to say. 

An hour after Clinton’s speech, Trump addressed supporters in New Hampshire. Originally intending to lay out why he believed Clinton is unfit to serve as president, Trump pivioted because of the shootings, saying he’d deliver the original speech at another time. His address was still ripe with Clinton criticism. 

Trump blamed current U.S. immigration policies for allowing the gunman’s parents to enter the country and blasted both Clinton and Obama for supporting strong gun laws, which he said will make terrorist attacks more likely. He used both of those points to make a direct appeal to the LGBT community. 

Make sure to come back to The Hill tonight and tomorrow for more on the candidates’ comments and tomorrow for a story on Bernie Sanders’s future beyond tomorrow’s last presidential primary.

 

RACE TO 1600 PENN 

QUESTIONING COMMITMENT: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Donald Trump on Monday cast doubt on President Obama’s commitment to fighting radical Islamic terrorism, saying “there’s something going on.” 

TAKING CREDIT: The Hill’s Jonathan Easley reports: Donald Trump on Monday took credit for Hillary Clinton’s use of the term “radical Islamism” to describe the terror threat from groups like the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. 

MONITORING MOSQUES: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Donald Trump said the United States must look at its mosques in response to the Orlando terror attack. Trump has previously called for domestic surveillance of mosques after the Paris attacks last November. 

PRESS PUNISHMENT: The Hill’s Ben Kamisar reports: Donald Trump said he is revoking the press credentials of The Washington Post, one of the nation’s largest newspapers, over its “dishonest reporting,” he announced in a brief Facebook post on Monday.

 

ODDS AND ENDS:

TEMPORARY BAN: The Hill’s Ben Kamisar reports: Donald Trump called for a temporary ban on immigration from areas with “a proven history of terrorism” in a Monday speech delivered in response to Sunday’s shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando. 

HECKLING HILLARY: The Hill’s Jonathan Swan reports: Hillary Clinton was interrupted by hecklers calling her a hypocrite as she began a speech Monday that was cast as a response to the Orlando nightclub shooting. Protesters chanted, “H is for hypocrisy.” 

AIDE ACCUSATION: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Donald Trump ally Roger Stone accused Huma Abedin, an aide to Hillary Clinton, of potentially being a “terrorist agent.” 

FAMILY TIES: The Hill’s Rafael Bernal reports: Stuart Stevens, a frequent critic of Donald Trump and lead strategist for Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, noted Trump’s wife and one of his ex-wives is an immigrant in panning the presumptive GOP nominee’s positions.

 

POLL POSITION 

GUN CONTROL: Seven Quinnipiac University national polls that were conducted from Feb. 7, 2013, to Nov. 5, 2015, found that 93 percent of American voters support “requiring background checks for all gun buyers.” Those facts were released in the wake of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history where 49 people were killed at a gay nightclub in Orlando on Sunday.

 

THE DAILY TRUMP 

PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: Donald Trump on Monday said that Mitt Romney prefers Hillary Clinton over him in the race for the White House, saying the 2012 Republican nominee is “a jealous guy.” 

BIRTHDAY BOY: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: Donald Trump turns 70 years old on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press. He shares a birthday with at least four other celebrities.

BAD-MOUTH BEER: The Hill’s Mark Hensch reports: Spiteful Brewing, a Chicago-based brewery is releasing a beer poking fun at Donald Trump later this week. The double India pale ale will be named “Dumb Donald.”

 

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“When you are focused on something as big as helping the country respond to the worst mass shooting in our nation’s history … it’s important not to get distracted by things that are so small,” 

— White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest, referring to Donald Trump’s call for President Obama to step down for not saying ‘radical Islamic terrorism’ in the wake of the Orlando nightclub shooting.

 

CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGNS 

SECOND LOOK: The Hill’s Ben Kamisar reports: In an interview with “The Hugh Hewitt Show,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said Sunday’s mass shooting in Orlando has left him thinking about service to his country and community, though he stopped short of saying he was reconsidering his decision to not run for reelection to the Senate. 

REID VS. RUBIO: The Hill’s Jordain Carney reports: Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) knocked Sen. Marco Rubio’s voting record amid increasing speculation about if the Florida Republican will run for reelection.

 

MONEY WATCH

REVISED SLOGAN: The Hill’s Jesse Byrnes reports: Donald Trump released a slightly different version of his “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan on Monday, after the massacre at a nightclub in Orlando. “Make America Safe Again!” blared the title of a fundraising email.

 

WHAT WE ARE WATCHING FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW:  

(All times Eastern) 

Hillary Clinton campaigns in Pittsburgh, Penn., at 12:15 p.m. on Tuesday. 

Donald Trump will hold a rally at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in Greensboro, N.C. 

Democratic Senate candidate Alan Grayson, whose congressional district includes the area where the Orlando nightclub shootings took place, will be on MSNBC’s “All in with Chris Hayes,” which airs at 8 tonight. 

Democrats hold their final presidential primary in District of Columbia on Tuesday. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. State primaries will be held in Maine, Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina and Virginia.

 

TWEET OF THE DAY

Both Clinton and Trump scrapped their planned speeches today, but these back-to-back remarks underscore the major choice facing Americans.

— Jeff Zeleny (@jeffzeleny) June 13, 2016

 

Write us with tips, suggestions and news: Jonathan Easley, Ben Kamisar, Jonathan Swan, Lisa Hagen. 

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