Trump appeals to LGBT community in New Hampshire speech

On the Monday after the ISIS-inspired attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump spoke in New Hampshire on anti-terrorism, with a special focus on the LGBT community.

Speaking from the town of Manchester, he declared the massacre that left 50 dead and over 50 injured was a “strike at the heart and soul of who we are”.

“We must respond with force, purpose, and determination,” he explained, adding that if elected, he would suspend immigration from areas with a history of “terrorism against us.”

But one of the biggest surprises of Trump’s speech was his appeal to the LGBT community, as he claim to be a better friend to them than Hillary Clinton.

He said: “Who is a greater friend of the LBGT, uh, the LGBT community: Donald Trump with actions, or Hillary Clinton with words? I will tell you who the better friend is. And some day, I believe it will be proven out, bigly.

“And by the way, the LBGT community. What happened to them is so sad. Thinking about what happened to that community under this administration is shameful.”

While “much of Islam is compatible with the Western world,” he continued, “radical Islam is anti-woman, anti-gay, anti-American; it is coming to our shores.”

He added: “This is a very dark moment in America’s history. A radical Islamic terrorist targeted the nightclub, not only because he wanted to kill Americans but in order to execute gay and lesbian citizens because of their sexual orientation. It’s a strike at the heart and soul of who we are as a nation.”

After extending his condolences to the LGBT community, he said the shooting was an attack on all free people, on their rights to live how they want and to love who they want. He encouraged the American people to stand as a united front in the face of this tragedy.

Trump soon turned his attention to criticizing political correctness, which he says hamper the United States’ ability to respond and recover from attacks like these and the threat of terrorism.

“If we don’t get tough and smart fast, we aren’t going to have our country anymore,” Trump claimed. “There will be absolutely nothing left.”

Tying the fight against Islamic terrorism to immigration policy, Trump urged President Obama to release the immigration records of all people connected to terrorism activities since 9/11. He said that failing to do so, and failing to properly and thoroughly screen immigrants entering the United States, would create a worse scenario than the famed Trojan Horse invasion of Troy.

“Immigration is a privilege,” said Trump. “We should not admit anyone who does not support our communities – all of them.”

The shooter in the Orlando attack, who Trump refused to name, was the son of Afghan immigrants, but born and raised in the United States.

Trump then shifted from Obama’s immigration policy as president to Hillary Clinton’s foreign policy as Secretary of State. He heavily criticized her decision-making in the cases of Libya and Syria, claiming her failures allowed for ISIS to grow in size and influence.

Discussing how he would handle the situation if he was elected in November, Trump declared: “Our goal needs to be to defeat Islamic terrorism, not nation building. It’s never going to work.” Likening the fight against Islamic terrorism to fighting communism in the Cold War, Trump called on the United States to unite the world against ISIS and other terrorist groups.

He concluded: “America will be an open and tolerate society. A safe society. We will protect our border at home. We fill fight ISIS overseas. We have no choice. We will ensure every parent can raise their children in peace and safety. We will make America rich again. We will make America safe again. And we will make America great again.”