House Speaker Paul Ryan issued what seems like the blandest of possible statements in response to the radical Islamic terrorist attack in Orlando late on Sunday evening, almost a full day after the attack.
Ryan said in a press statement issued from his office at 6:07 p.m. eastern time on Sunday:
It is horrifying to see so many innocent lives cut short by such cowardice. Tonight, and in the long days ahead, we will grieve with the families. We will thank the heroes. We will hope for a swift recovery for the injured. As we heal, we need to be clear-eyed about who did this. We are a nation at war with Islamist terrorists. Theirs is a repressive, hateful ideology that respects no borders. It is a threat to our people at home and abroad. Our security depends on our refusal to back down in the face of terror. We never will.
Outside of a Tweet earlier in the day that did not address the radical Islamic terrorism angle of this, Ryan has not said anything else about the terrorist attack.
“We pray for those brutally attacked in Orlando,” Ryan had Tweeted earlier in the day. “While we must learn more about the attacker, the victims & families will not be forgotten.”
We pray for those brutally attacked in Orlando. While we must learn more about the attacker, the victims & families will not be forgotten.
— Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) June 12, 2016
Ryan’s office has not answered a detailed set of questions from Breitbart News all day Sunday. The questions specifically focus on whether Ryan will continue using Americans’ taxpayer dollars to fund Muslim refugee resettlement in America, whether Ryan thinks Muslims should be allowed to continue coming to America in such high numbers, and whether he thinks it is acceptable that President Barack Obama is continuing to refuse to call this radical Islamic terrorism—or if Ryan thinks the president should face consequences, up to and including his immediate resignation from office.
Specifically, the three questions Ryan’s office is refusing to answer are:
1.) Will Speaker Ryan immediately pull all funding for Muslim refugee resettlement in America?
2.) Does Speaker Ryan think America should allow any Muslims to continue immigrating into America after this terrorist attack?
3.) Since President Obama is still refusing to call this radical Islamic terrorism, Donald Trump is calling for the president to immediately resign from the White House. Does Speaker Ryan agree or should President Obama yet again be allowed to keep ignoring the threat and face no consequences?
Ryan, of course, as Speaker has facilitated the taxpayer funding of Muslim refugee resettlement and has been publicly clear that he does not agree with billionaire real estate developer and 2016 GOP presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump’s plans for a temporary ban on Muslim entry into America. Trump, on the other hand, has doubled down in the wake of the Orlando terrorist attack in support of a Muslim ban—and has also called on President Obama to resign his office immediately over Obama’s refusal to call radical Islamic terrorism what it is.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.