Wasn’t it bad, Donald Trump asked supporters at a Florida rally Wednesday night, that the father of the killer of 49 people in an Orlando nightclub “was sitting with a big smile on his face right behind Hillary Clinton” at a campaign event?
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Seddique Mateen was caught on camera seated in the audience behind Clinton during her campaign appearance Monday night in Kissimmee, a town 37km south of Orlando.
“When you get those seats you sort of know the campaign, so when she said well we didn’t knew, he knew, they knew”.
“Bill and I were in Orlando about two weeks ago, and we had a chance to sit down with Mayor Dyer, other elected officials, members of the clergy, of the fearless police officers who rushed into the Pulse nightclub massacre to save lives”, Clinton said, according to a transcript released by her presidential campaign.
“The bottom line is that the only reason the killer was in America in the first place was because we allowed his family to come here”, Trump said at a rally in New Hampshire.
“[T] he people behind me, they’re all on television”, Trump told the crowd at BB&T Center. “I love the United States, and I’ve been living here a long time”, he said.
He drew harsh criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike because some took his remarks on Tuesday to mean he was inciting violence despite Trump’s insistence he was only urging more people to rally votes against Clinton.
Clinton disavowed Seddique Mateen’s support in the aftermath of her rally.
Mr Trump tried to raise ethical questions about Mrs Clinton and criticised her for letting the father of the Orlando nightclub shooter sit behind her at a rally. And I want them to know that we will be with you.
Mateen, an immigrant from Afghanistan, was approached by a reporter from the local WPTV television station and asked about his presence at the rally.
Trump said that his comments referred to people taking political action to make their voices heard, while opponents called it a death threat toward Clinton.
“I … wish that my son joined the Army and fought ISIS”.
Mateen’s wife, 30-year-old Noor Salman, who was added to the gunman’s life insurance policy and given access to his bank accounts prior to the massacre, has also gone missing.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event in Sunrise, Fla.
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A Trump spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Trump or the campaign knew that Foley would be in attendance.
