POLL: Clinton's Response to Orlando Proves She Can Handle Terrorism

As noted on the day of the Orlando mass shooting, presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton had starkly different reactions -- and Clinton's handling of the issue is now helping her in the polls.

In response to the worst mass shooting in recent American history, which targeted LGBT people of color, Trump asked the public to congratulate him "for being right on radical Islamic terrorism." By contrast, Clinton sought to reassure LGBT Americans that they have her support. She also has been supportive of further restrictions on gun purchases, while Trump has not.

An ABC News/Washington Post poll released today indicates that Clinton's approach is resonating with voters. Fifty percent of respondents said they consider Clinton the more trustworthy candidate to handle terrorism, while 39 percent chose Trump. "That's similar to the gap in March, after a more closely divided view last month," ABC News reports, comparing these results to earlier polls.

Those polled thought Clinton did a better job overall of responding to the tragedy at Orlando's Pulse gay nightclub, by a margin of 46 percent to 28 percent. Fifty-nine percent said she showed the better temperament, while 25 percent said Trump did. Fifty-three percent said she made them confident that she could handle a similar incident as president, to 34 percent who felt the same for Trump. When it came to ideas for preventing further attacks, 44 percent said Clinton had the better ones, and 35 percent said Trump.

The results demonstrate that voters find "Clinton's forceful, fact-based approach" preferable to "Trump's over-the-top ranting," remarked Daily Kos contributor Mark Sumner.

Commentators have also noted that Trump was quick to jump on Orlando shooter Omar Mateen's sympathies with Middle Eastern terror group ISIS. But other details that have come to light, such as Mateen's activity on gay hookup websites and apps, indicate that his motives may have been more complex.

The ABC News/Washington Post poll also found broad support for new gun laws. Eighty-six percent of respondents favored keeping guns out of the hands of people who are on government watch lists of terror suspects. Fifty-one percent supported reinstating the ban on assault weapons, up six percentage points from its low point in a December poll.