Trump’s ‘traitorous’ attack on Obama gives ‘aid to our enemies’

To the editor: Donald Trump’s reaction to the Orlando attack was traitorous. By giving aid to our enemies while demanding disunity at home, he is certainly encouraging Islamic State.

Trump’s statement has the effect of showing our enemies that we are divided and that future attacks will have an amplified impact as long as he is in the spotlight. This is, of course, exactly what the terrorists want.

Trump’s reaction is historically unique. Our country has been attacked many times, from Fort Sumter to Pearl Harbor to 9/11, and each time American citizens and politicians banded together, forgot about partisan politics and showed our attackers that America was united against them.

Trump has done the opposite. He wants to amplify the effect of the Orlando attack. He speaks as if he feels future massacres will help elect him president.

Imagine if after 9/11 the Democrats turned against President Bush that very day. They didn’t. Only Trump would put himself before American solidarity and encourage our enemies by deeply insulting our commander in chief.

Douglas Miller, Studio City

..

To the editor: Trump’s response to the massacre in Orlando blaming the president, Muslims and immigrants is irresponsible and callous at a time when the nation is grieving over this latest atrocity. He would do well to remember that the majority of mass shootings have not been by outside terrorists but by homegrown domestic ones, usually white males.

Blaming is far easier than working to ensure this type of carnage is curtailed through responsible gun-control legislation. America is being held hostage by powerful lobbyists who are quick to state their right to bear arms is ensured by the 2nd Amendment, which was enacted when assault rifles and other weapons of mass destruction did not exist.

As a nation, we have suffered the effects of obstruction politics for the last seven-plus years, and the thought of more of the same does not bode well for anyone.

Doris K. Reed, Los Angeles

..

To the editor: It is clear from your editorial that political correctness is more important in your way of thinking than the protection of American citizens. Far from “hate mongering” or “the political chatter of lunatics,” Trump’s comments truly echo the questions that millions and probably tens of millions of Americans are asking:

Why does President Obama refuse to identify “radical Islam” as the entity responsible for these terror attacks? Why does Obama insist on bringing in more than 100,000 immigrants from Syria and other parts of the Middle East while knowing there are almost certainly terrorists among them?

And why do both Obama and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton appear to be more concerned with the opinions of Muslim leaders in other countries than with the safety of our own people?

Richard Keeling, Torrance

..

To the editor: As expected, Trump was quick in the aftermath of the Orlando massacre trying to score political points, claiming he was “right.”

Right about what? Right about making assault weapons illegal? Right about calling for more thorough background checks to make it harder to obtain weapons for those not responsible enough? Right about equal rights regardless of gender, religious background, ethnicity or sexual orientation?

No, Trump was dead wrong on all accounts, and more.

Jorg Aadahl, San Mateo

..

To the editor: Trump’s message seems to be that unless I am a white, male, Christian American, I am a second-class citizen with second-class rights.

This is not the America we have nor the one I want.

Kersten Tanner, Point Arena, Calif.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook

ALSO

In aggressive speech, Donald Trump broadens his proposal to ban more foreign visitors to U.S.

Congress remains unlikely to change U.S. gun laws after Orlando shooting

How Trump’s and Clinton’s claims in their speeches after the Orlando shooting stack up

After Orlando, California lawmakers push for action on gun control