Hillary Clinton’s campaign announced that the Democratic presidential nominee “disavows” support from the Orlando terrorist’s father Seddique Mateen.
“Hillary Clinton disagrees with his views and disavows his support,” campaign spokesperson Nick Merrill said shortly in a statement to reporters late Tuesday night, in response to questions about Mateen.
Mateen was spotted by local reporters at a Clinton rally only 30 minutes away from the site of the Orlando shooting. He was positioned directly behind Clinton as he took photos of the candidate while she was paying tribute to the victims of Orlando.
Clinton’s campaign spent most of Tuesday fielding questions about Mateen’s support, before finally releasing a statement more than 12 hours after learning of his presence.
At a Trump rally earlier today in Fayetteville, North Carolina, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani blasted Clinton for failing to disavow Mateen’s support.
“She had standing behind her the father of the murderer in Orlando and she hasn’t apologized yet and she hasn’t condemned it yet. Can you imagine if Donald Trump had done something like that? My goodness, the New York Times would have it front page for six days,” Giuliani said.
Clinton just finished attending a fundraiser in Miami Beach, Florida this evening.