In the wake of the San Bernardino shootings, Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz warned that Americans are at risk from homegrown Islamic militants and blasted President Obama for being an "apologist for radical terrorism."
Speaking at the Republican Jewish Coalition's Presidential Forum on Wednesday, the Texas Senator first extended his thoughts and prayers to the families of those killed in the tragic shootings earlier this week.
"At this point, the details of what happened in San Bernardino are still unclear, but our prayers are with the families of those who were murdered, of those who were shot," Cruz said before calling for a moment of silence. "All of us are deeply concerned that this is yet another manifestation of terrorism, radical Islamic terrorism here at home."
As reported by the Gospel Herald, Syed Rizwan Farook, and Tashfeen Malik -- one, a U.S. citizen and the other, a permanent resident --massacred 14 people and injured 17 others at a holiday party at the Inland Regional Center in the California city.
The couple were later killed in a shootout with police. While their specific motives remain unclear, officials say both Farook and Malik may have been radicalized.
"Yesterday's horrific murder, in the wake of Paris, underscores we're at a time of war whether or not the current administration realizes it," Cruz said, criticizing Obama's ISIS strategy.
"When the president stands up and says the Islamic state isn't Islamic - that's just nutty," he charged. "We need a president who will call the enemy by its name: radical Islamic terrorism and we will defeat it."
In light of the continued terrorist attacks around the world, Cruz contended that America needs a "wartime president."
"You know, I've got to say FDR and JFK and Ronald Reagan were spinning in their graves to hear an American president say he doesn't believe in American leadership or American winning," the GOP hopeful said, explaining he would "borrow a page from Ronald Reagan in the Cold War" when fighting radical Islamic terrorism.
"It should be very simple: we win, they lose," he said.
In an address given at the White House on Thursday, President Obama said that it was possible that Wednesday's mass shooting was a terror attack, but that "we do not yet know," and said that the incident could be "workplace related."
"It is possible that this was terrorist-related, but we don't know," Obama said. "It's also possible that this was workplace related and until the FBI has been able to conduct what is going to be a large number of individuals, until we understand the nature of the workplace relation between the individual and his superiors, because he worked with the organization where this terrible shooting took place, until all the social media and electronic info has been exploited, we're just not going to be able to answer those questions."
Despite urging U.S. citizens not to jump to conclusions, the president spoke about "the prevalence of these kinds of mass shootings in this country" and called for legislators to make it harder for potential shooters to get access to weapons.
"Because right now it's too easy, and I think we're going to have to search ourselves as a society that we can take basic steps to make it harder, not impossible, but harder for those individuals to get access to weapons," Obama said.
