During Orlando visit, Obama will fight paranoia with logic

An American flag outside Pulse nightclub.

(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

published 16 June 2016

President Obama will visit the site of the Orlando nightclub shooting on Thursday to meet with families of the victims as well as people who survived the attack. The visit comes as Obama continues to try to deflect criticism that he has not done enough to fight ISIS and that he does not understand the full threat of radical Islam. "When terrorists have struck during his presidency, Obama has typically reacted cerebrally and unemotionally, trying to ensure that reason triumphs over the fear and emotion of the moment even as critics such as Donald Trump assail it," CNN notes.

In Orlando, the White House has said the president will express the grief of the victims' families and avoid "doing the terrorists' work for them" by being lured into spreading fear or paranoia. Obama will also meet with first responders, and the doctors and surgeons who have treated the victims of the attack.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.