--- title: How Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump Will Respond description: Lawmakers and candidates are formulating their responses to the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. Trump called for tougher leadership. canonical: https://time.com/4365999/how-hillary-clinton-and-donald-trump-will-respond/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-13T14:43:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T22:33:19.035Z article:section: Politics og:title: How Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump Will Respond og:description: Lawmakers and candidates are formulating their responses to the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. Trump called for tougher leadership. og:url: https://time.com/4365999/how-hillary-clinton-and-donald-trump-will-respond/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Morning Must Reads og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump Will Respond twitter:description: Lawmakers and candidates are formulating their responses to the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. Trump called for tougher leadership. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump Will Respond > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Jun 13, 2016 2:43 PM UTC  The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC. The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC. Mark Wilson—Getty Images by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Jun 13, 2016 2:43 PM UTC **_If you only read one thing:_** _The killing of 49 early Sunday morning in an LGBT nightclub in Orlando became the deadliest terror attack in the U.S. since 9/11 and the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, reigniting the debates over terrorism and gun control and re-injecting them into the presidential race. As law enforcement investigates the shooter, Omar Mateen, who apparently pledged loyalty to ISIS during a phone call with police, lawmakers and candidates are formulating their response to the shooting—and in the case of the presidential race, looking for how to use the situation to their advantage._ **Hillary Clinton** and **Donald Trump** are set to deliver contrasting speeches on national security and the threat of terrorism Monday in response to the attack, adjusting their schedules but not retreating from the campaign trail either. Clinton will respond first at an event in Cleveland, where her team was still debating how political to make their response. Trump leaned into the crisis almost immediately, saying the shooting vindicated his call for a ban on Muslim immigration to the U.S.—even though the shooter was born in the country—and his calls for tougher leadership. For the 15th time since taking office, **President Obama** was forced to address the nation to confront a mass shooting, but in the waning days of his administration, there was little Obama could offer on his longstanding call for tougher gun control laws than an effort to guilt congressional lawmakers. The White House said Obama will continue to be briefed on the attack Monday, and he is expected to visit Orlando for an as-yet-to-be-scheduled memorial for the victims. Here are your must-reads: **Must Reads** [Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump to Confront Orlando Shooting ](http://time.com/4365764/orlando-shooting-hillary-clinton-donald-trump/?xid=homepage)A study in contrasts after worst terror attack in U.S. since 9/11, TIME’s Philip Elliott writes [President Obama: Orlando Shootings Were Act of ‘Terror’ and ‘Hate’ ](http://time.com/4365421/orlando-shooting-barack-obama-terror-hate/)Renews call for debate over gun control \[TIME\] [Hope Fades and Anguish Sets in as Family, Friends Await Word of Orlando Shooting Victims ](http://time.com/4365618/orlando-shooting-pulse-nightclub-victims/?xid=homepage)Shocked family members await news \[TIME\] [Romney Rips 2016 Also-Rans for Losing to Trump ](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/mitt-romney-donald-trump-republican-candidates-224216)Mitt gets emotional: ‘Seeing this just breaks your heart’ \[Politico\] **Sound Off** This is a sobering reminder that attacks on any American — regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation — is an attack on all of us and on the fundamental values of equality and dignity that define us as a country. And no act of hate or terror will ever change who we are or the values that make us Americans.” — President Obama addressing the shooting in Orlando Sunday “What has happened in Orlando is just the beginning. Our leadership is weak and ineffective. I called it and asked for the ban. Must be tough” — Trump in a Twitter posting Sunday afternoon **Bits and Bites** [Read President Obama’s Speech on the Orlando Nightclub Shootings](http://time.com/4365454/orlando-shooting-president-obama-speech-transcript/) \[TIME\] [Donald Trump Slams ‘Weak’ Leaders After Orlando Shooting](http://time.com/4365567/donald-trump-orlando-shooting/) \[TIME\] [Hillary Clinton on Orlando Shooting: ‘Hate Has Absolutely No Place in America’](http://time.com/4365495/orlando-nightclub-shooting-hillary-clinton/) \[TIME\] [Tweaks to North Carolina ‘Bathroom Bill’ Unlikely to Satisfy Critics](http://time.com/4365202/north-carolina-bathroom-tweaks-unlikely-to-satisfy-critics/) \[TIME\] [Hillary Clinton Campaign Releases Fake Infomercial for Trump University](http://time.com/4365178/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-trump-university/) \[TIME\] [Bernie Sanders to Meet With Hillary Clinton After D.C. Primary](http://time.com/4365293/bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-dc-primary-meet/) \[Associated Press\] [Broadway Wants Longer Tax Break as ‘Hamilton’ Prints Money](http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-06-10/broadway-wants-tax-break-extended-as-hamilton-enriches-backers) \[Bloomberg\] [Hillary Clinton’s First Speech as Presumptive Nominee Puts ‘Women’s Issues’ Front and Center](http://time.com/4364304/hillary-clinton-planned-parenthood-womens-issues/) \[TIME\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4365999/how-hillary-clinton-and-donald-trump-will-respond/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4365999/how-hillary-clinton-and-donald-trump-will-respond/"},"headline":"How Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump Will Respond","datePublished":"2016-06-13T14:43:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T22:33:19.035Z","description":"Morning Must Reads: June 13","url":"https://time.com/4365999/how-hillary-clinton-and-donald-trump-will-respond/","keywords":["Morning Must Reads"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zeke Miller","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Morning Must Reads","caption":"Capitol","creditText":"Mark Wilson—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":"https://time.com/4365999/how-hillary-clinton-and-donald-trump-will-respond/","name":"How Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump Will Respond"}}]}] ```