In their never-ending quest for neutrality masquerading as “objectivity,” the media spent way more time than was necessary on Tuesday reporting on the fact that Orlando shooter Omar Mateen’s father Seddique Mateen photobombed a Hillary Clinton rally on Monday.
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Clinton’s opponent, Republican nominee Donald Trump, blamed the June 12 massacre on America’s “immigration system” which he claims is too lax, ignoring that the shooter, Omar Mateen, was born in NY and was an American citizen.
“Should your campaign have known that Omar Mateen’s father was at your rally yesterday?” the reporter questioned the Democrat’s presidential nominee.
Clinton’s campaign denied that it sent a personal invitation to Mateen, and by Wednesday it had completely distanced itself from the man who seemed to be supportive of Clinton. The father says his family has been co-operating with investigators.
With Foley sitting directly behind him, Trump referenced Mateen at Clinton’s Florida rally-and even said that people sitting that close to the candidate “know the campaign”.
Earlier in the day, the campaign downplayed Mateen’s attendance.
“I just have to tell you how grateful I am for the leadership and the people of Orlando and Central Florida for your love and compassion”.
“How many of you people know me?”
“Clinton campaign officials quickly responded, confirming they did not know Mateen was in the audience: “[Clinton] disagrees with his views and disavows his support”. “Me, myself, you can’t blame a parent for what a child has done”.
Asked about his son, Mr Mateen said he wished “my son (had) joined the army and fought ISIS” instead.
“Well I felt like to tell you why I stopped to talk to you because very important for United States of America, especially the election”.
“That would be much better”, he told WPTV.
Mateen has also used his videos to declare himself the true president of Afghanistan and commanded the Afghan government workers to forsake all other rulers, an indication that some of his views may not be grounded in reality. “This individual wasn’t invited as a guest and the campaign was unaware of his attendance until after the event”.
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The Human Rights Campaign issued a statement criticizing Trump and Senator Marco Rubio for agreeing to appear before the Liberty Counsel’s Florida Renewal Project event.
