Aftermath of a tragedy

WHEN Omar Mateen killed 49 people in a gay nightclub in Orlando on June 12th, did he commit the bloodiest mass shooting in modern American history, the worst ever attack on gay Americans or the deadliest act of Islamist terrorism since 9/11? America’s polarised political culture demands that people choose between these interpretations. For those on the left, Mr Mateen’s killing spree focuses attention on the problem of easy access to guns and on homophobia. For those on the right it shows that America has a problem with homegrown . For anyone not beholden to either camp the answer seems obvious: the attack was all three of these things.It was also an early test of how a President Trump might handle a crisis if elected in November. One of the finest moments of George W. Bush’s presidency was when he went to an Islamic centre six days after 9/11 and issued a call for tolerance and unity. Mr Trump’s first thought was to exploit the shooting to score a point: “Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism,” he tweeted. It got worse. The Republican nominee first implied that the president might secretly be in league with Islamic State (IS). Then he gave a speech which suggested that American Muslims are a fifth column who “know what’s going on” but choose not to tell the police about impending attacks.