Israel's former Ambassador to the Unites States has said that the deadly shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando will strengthen Donald Trump's presidential hopes, with the presumptive Republican nominee using it to bolster his anti-Islam campaign message.
Michael Oren - who currently serves as a Member of Knesset for the Kulanu party - told Israel's Channel 10 the precise motive of the shooting is a crucial element in the political message sent out by candidates in the aftermath of the attack.
Had the shooting - the deadliest in American history - been carried out for purely homophobic reasons, presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton would have capitalized on it to push her liberal campaign message, Oren speculated.
But "given that it is becoming clear that the motive is Islamist-jihadist, it will benefit Donald Trump. It will greatly strengthen him," Oren said.
The gunman, Omar Mateen, swore allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist group (ISIS), which later took credit for the massacre.
Indeed, in the aftermath of the attack Donald Trump has emphasized his concerns over Muslim extremism, taking to Twitter to opine that the attack prove he was right about the grave threat to the US posed by Islamic terror.