Real estate mogul and wannabe presidential candidate Donald Trump on Monday night took a break from talking tough about President Barack Obama to criticize a Muhammad cartoon-drawing contest where two gunmen opened fire Sunday in Garland, Texas.
One of the event’s organizers, Pamela Geller, has sought to cast the shooting as a “war on free speech.” In a series of tweets, Trump suggested Geller and the other notorious anti-Muslim extremists who hosted the event were “publicity seekers” who actually provoked the attack:
Nobody would fight harder for free speech than me but why taunt, over and over again, in order to provoke possible death to audience. DUMB!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 5, 2015
The U.S. has enough problems without publicity seekers going out and openly mocking religion in order to provoke attacks and death. BE SMART
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 5, 2015
What would you do if a large group of Muslims had a very public meeting drawing horrible and mocking cartoons of Jesus? Oh really, be cool!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 5, 2015
Trump also called out Geller directly earlier Monday in an interview on Fox News’ “Fox and Friends.”
“It looks like she’s actually taunting people,” Trump said. “It’s disgusting that [the shooting] happened and everything else, but what are they doing drawing Muhammad? Isn’t there something else they can draw?”
