Obama lashes out at ‘loose talk’ on terrorism, Islam

An angry President Obama on Tuesday lashed out at Republicans, and particularly Donald Trump, who have called him soft on terrorism,

warning that "loose talk" about Muslims has harmed the United States' campaign against militant groups in the Middle East and elsewhere.

Obama challenged the demand by his critics that he characterize acts of terrorism, including the mass shooting in Orlando, as the work of  "radical Islam" -- a phrase the president has for years refused to use. A day earlier, Trump had questioned Obama's commitment to stopping terrorist acts, including the Orlando shooting.

“That’s the key, they tell us. We can’t get ISIL unless we call them ‘radical Islamists,'" Obama said, referring to the Islamic State militant group after meeting with his National Security Council at the Treasury Department to discuss the administration's counter-terrorism strategy. "What exactly would using this label accomplish? What exactly would it change? Would it make ISIL less committed to trying to kill Americans? Would it bring in more allies? Is there a military strategy that is served by this? The answer is, none of the above. Calling a threat by a different name does not make it go away. This is a political distraction.”

The president added: "There’s no magic to the phrase, 'radical Islam.' It’s a political talking point; it’s not a strategy."

The remarks were Obama's most forceful rebuttal to Trump since the real estate mogul became the presumptive GOP presidential nominee. Though he did not mention Trump by name, Obama lambasted his proposals to ban all Muslims from immigrating to the United States and challenged Republican leaders to reject his demagoguery.

"We are now seeing how dangerous this kind of mindset and thinking is -- this kind of rhetoric can sloppiness and loose talk about who we are fighting--where this can lead us," Obama said. Trump "singles out immigrants and suggests entire religious communities are complacent in violence. Where does this stop?"

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