Obama calls for ban on assault weapons for civilians.
AB Wire
President Barack Obama has criticized GOP presumptive nominee Donald Trump’s call to ban Muslims from America, saying it’s “dangerous”, and also voiced his frustration with the insinuations by Trump and others that he doesn’t use the words ‘radical Islamic terrorism’ when describing terrorist attacks.
Obama said Trump’s suggestion violates the principles of American democracy and generates rage among would-be extremists, reported CNN.
Dismissing the “yapping” from “politicians who tweet,” Obama described Trump’s suggestions as harmful to the country’s national security.
“We are now seeing how dangerous this kind of mindset and this kind of thinking can be,” he said. “We’re starting to see where this kind of rhetoric and loose talk and sloppiness about who exactly we’re fighting, where this can lead us.”
Obama also accused Republicans of fostering resentment among Muslims that could generate further attacks.
“What exactly would using this language accomplish? What exactly would it change?” Obama asked during remarks at the Treasury Department. “Would it make ISIL less committed to try and kill Americans?” he continued, using a different acronym for ISIS.
“Would it bring in more allies? Is there a military strategy that is served by this? The answer is none of the above,” he said. “Calling a threat by a different name does not make it go away.”
“Where does this stop?” Obama protested, pointing out that recent domestic terror attacks have been carried about by U.S. citizens.
“Are we going to start treating all Muslim-Americans differently? Are we going to start subjecting them to special surveillance? Are we going to start discriminating them because of their faith? We’ve heard these suggestions during the course of this campaign,” Obama said. “Do Republican officials actually agree with this? Because that’s not the America we want. It doesn’t reflect our Democratic ideals. It will make us less safe.”
In a brief statement following Obama’s remarks, Trump said Obama “claims to know our enemy, and yet he continues to prioritize our enemy over our allies, and for that matter, the American people.”
“When I am President, it will always be America First,” Trump said.
Speaking after Obama’s remarks, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the President had grown frustrated at hearing “political talking points” being wielded in place of a comprehensive counterterrorism strategy.
Obama, in his remarks, also called for Congress to pass tougher gun laws and the renewal of the assault weapons ban.
“We have to make it harder for people who want to kill Americans to get their hands on weapons of war that let them kill dozens of innocents,” Obama said. “Enough talking about being tough on terrorism. Actually be tough on terrorism.”