US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said on Monday night he would suspend immigration to the United States from countries "where there is a proven history of terrorism" against the United States, his strongest reaction yet to the Orlando nightclub massacre.
Democratic rival Hillary Clinton warned against demonizing Muslim Americans, offering a starkly different approach to national security as the two candidates clashed in speeches reacting to the slayings at a gay nightclub in which 49 people and the gunman were killed, and 53 were wounded.
It was the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.
“The Orlando terrorist may be dead, but the virus that poisoned his mind remains very strong, and we must attack it,” Ms Clinton, the Democrats’ presumptive nominee for the November 8th election, said in a speech in Cleveland.
In Manchester, New Hampshire, Trump said, if elected, he would use executive authority to better control immigration, emphasizing one of the main themes of his campaign for the general election. He noted that Orlando shooter Omar Mateen, (29), had parents born in Afghanistan.
"I would use this power to protect the American people. When I'm elected, I will suspend immigration from areas of the world where there is a proven history of terrorism against the United States, Europe or our allies until we fully understand how to end these threats," the wealthy businessman said.
Minister for Social Protection Leo Varadkar said he thought some comments made by Mr Trump in the aftermath of the killings were “pretty crass”.
The businessman’s initial responses to the Orlando attacks included accepting “congrats” for “being right” about the terror threat facing the US.
“I thought it was tasteless and it’s unfortunate to see anyone from any political perspective trying to exploit really an event like this to make out somehow that they got it right all along,” said Mr Varadkar. “It’s very disappointing to see that.”
On whether he would meet Mr Trump, Mr Varadkar said he had no invitation to do so “so the issue doesn’t arise”.
“One thing I would say and this is the realpolitik of these things, if somebody is the elected leader of one country it is the norm that politicians would meet them and there are lots of leaders, elected and non-elected from countries all over the world who have done much worse than Donald Trump has ever said, and we do meet them, because we have to that’s the way we make sure we protect the interests of our citizen.
“Most obviously, very regularly Irish politicians are meeting politicians from Egypt about the Halawa case, in order to get things done you have to meet them.”
On Monday night Mr Trump also challenged Ms Clinton to explain why she is in favor of accepting refugees from the Syrian civil war, and said his policies would better protect American women, gays and lesbians, Jews and Christians. Mr Trump’s support among women and gay voters lags far behind that of Clinton.
“Radical Islam is anti-woman, anti-gay and anti-American,” said Mr Trump. “I refuse to allow America to become a place where gay people, Christian people, and Jewish people are the targets of persecution and intimidation by radical Islamic preachers of hate and violence.”
Mr Trump also lashed out at President Barack Obama by questioning his motives for refusing to use the term "radical Islamic terrorism" in describing such attacks. He argued that both the president and Clinton were unfit to lead the nation.
Mateen was a US-born son of Afghan immigrants. Armed with an assault rifle and pledging loyalty to militant group Islamic State, he opened fire at a nightclub in Orlando early on Sunday.
In proposals for dealing with threats of violence at home and abroad, Ms Clinton called for increased efforts to remove Islamic State propaganda from the internet, more air strikes in the areas held by the militant group and better coordination with allies in the region.
She specifically called out three US allies – Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait – for allowing its citizens to fund mosques and schools that train jihadists.
She also called for stricter gun control laws, reiterating prior calls to prohibit those on terrorism watch lists from buying guns. She pointed out that while the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was aware of Mateen as a possible threat, he was still able to legally purchase a gun.
Clinton has called for a complete ban on assault-style guns. "It's important that we stop the terrorists from getting the tools they need to carry out the attacks, and that is especially true when it comes to assault weapons like those used in Orlando and San Bernardino, " Ms Clinton said, drawing a standing ovation from the crowd.