--- description: President Barack Obama called the shootings at an Orlando "an act of terror and an act of hate," after a gunman stormed Pulse nightclub. title: Read President Obama's Speech on the Orlando Nightclub Shootings image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9c08f400635bd861/69889763a988cacc9c6b8322/obama-orlando-shooting.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [White House](/tag/white-house/) ## White House Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Read President Obama's Speech on the Orlando Nightclub Shootings by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 12, 2016 6:44 PM CUT  President Barack Obama makes a statement on the mass shooting at an Orlando, Florida nightclub in the White House Briefing Room in Washington, DC on June 12, 2016. President Barack Obama makes a statement on the mass shooting at an Orlando, Florida nightclub in the White House Briefing Room in Washington, DC on June 12, 2016.YURI GRIPAS—AFP/Getty Images by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 12, 2016 6:44 PM CUT [President Barack Obama](http://time.com/4365421/orlando-shooting-barack-obama-terror-hate/ "undefined") on Sunday called the [shootings at an Orlando nightclub](http://time.com/4365260/orlando-shooting-pulse-nightclub-what-know/?xid=homepage "undefined") “an act of terror and an act of hate,” after a gunman stormed Pulse Orlando, killing at least 50 people and injuring 53 others. Obama noted that the mass shooting in Orlando is the [worst](http://time.com/4365325/orlando-shooting-pulse-nightclub-deadliest-history/?xid=homepage "undefined") in American history and said the attack was a “reminder” of how easy it is for anyone to get their hands on a powerful weapon. Here are his full remarks from the White House. --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4365454/orlando-shooting-president-obama-speech-transcript/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4365454/orlando-shooting-president-obama-speech-transcript/"},"headline":"Read President Obama's Speech on the Orlando Nightclub Shootings","datePublished":"2016-06-12T18:44:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T22:32:38.164Z","description":"\"This was an act of terror and an act of hate\"","url":"https://time.com/4365454/orlando-shooting-president-obama-speech-transcript/","keywords":["White House","Crime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9c08f400635bd861/69889763a988cacc9c6b8322/obama-orlando-shooting.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9c08f400635bd861/69889763a988cacc9c6b8322/obama-orlando-shooting.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-POLITICS-OBAMA-CRIME-SHOOTING","caption":"US-POLITICS-OBAMA-CRIME-SHOOTING","creditText":"YURI GRIPAS—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4365454/orlando-shooting-president-obama-speech-transcript/","name":"Read President Obama's Speech on the Orlando Nightclub Shootings"}}]}] ```