Donald Trump responded to the sniper attack in Dallas with a measured statement of support for the police victims, beating Hillary Clinton to the punch and proving that he can, at times, deliver the kind of disciplined message that has largely been missing from his campaign.
In a post on Twitter early Friday morning, Trump offered his "prayers and condolences" to the families of the police officers who were injured and killed overnight on Thursday, when at least one gunman opened fire in downtown Dallas during a peaceful protest of the police shootings of two black men in Louisiana and Minnesota earlier this week.
Five police officers were killed and seven others wounded in Dallas, in the deadliest attack on law enforcement officials in years. The suspected sniper, who was killed by police early Friday morning after a tense standoff following the attack, said he was targeting white police officers.
Trump canceled a campaign event in Miami that was scheduled for later today, and issued a longer statement two hours after his post on Twitter.
"Our nation has become too divided," Trump said. "Crime is harming too many citizens. Racial tensions have gotten worse, not better. This isn't the American Dream we all want for our children."
Trump added that the violence of the past week proved it was "time, perhaps more than ever, for strong leadership, love and compassion. We will pull through these tragedies."
The comments offered a rare glimmer of poise from the most divisive presidential nominee in modern United States history. Republican leaders have been continuously exasperated by the real estate mogul's seemingly off-the-cuff response to international and domestic crises, such as Trump's assertion last month that Britain's vote to leave the European Union would be good for his business empire.
Trump's statement on the Dallas attack appeared to have been crafted with the help of professional campaign staff, demonstrating Trump's willingness to rely on his still-small but growing communications team.
Nevertheless, Trump quickly drew criticism on social media for referring to both of the men who were shot and killed by police this week as "motorists." Philando Castile was riding in the front seat of a car when he was killed during a traffic stop in a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota. The other victim, Alton Sterling, was killed by a police officer outside of a convenience store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The Trump campaign's state chairman in Virginia also drew widespread condemnation on Friday for posting a message on Facebook that blamed Hillary Clinton for the attack in Dallas. The message was later deleted.
The incident threatened to derail the Trump campaign on a rare day when the candidate did not generate a controversy himself.
Anti-Trump Republicans said they expected Trump to say something controversial about the Dallas shootings or race and criminal justice in his next unscripted appearance, though they acknowledged that his initial statements on Friday were an improvement.
"I thought it was totally appropriate. It was a change in tone," said Mike Murphy, a Republican consultant who ran Right to Rise, Jeb Bush's political action committee.
"The problem is, my guess is somebody wrote it for him," Murphy said. "When he gets in front of a microphone he goes back to being himself."
Police officers stand guard at a baracade following the sniper shooting in Dallas on July 7, 2016. LAURA BUCKMAN/AFP/Getty Images)
In contrast to Trump, Clinton did not issue a formal statement on Friday on the Dallas attack, though she did take to Twitter to offer a brief message of support for the victims' families.
"I mourn for the officers shot while doing their sacred duty to protect peaceful protesters, for their families & all who serve with them," Clinton wrote.
Clinton is expected to address the attack and the police shootings in a series of interviews — including with PBS NewsHour — later this afternoon. She is also planning to return to the subject during an event in Philadelphia on Friday evening.
Her supporters said they hoped Clinton would use the appearances on Friday to draw a sharp contrast with Trump.
"She should draw the distinction that she encourages people to get along and not hurt each other, and think about their biases," said Marti Anderson, a Democratic member of the Iowa state legislature. "Mr. Trump doesn't do that."
Still, others said that Clinton needed to deliver a response laden with specific policy proposals to curb gun violence and enact criminal justice reform.
In making her case to the public, Clinton must be a "consoler in chief, but of course that's not enough," said Todd Shaw, a political science professor at the University of South Carolina.
"Communities won't be fully satisfied until reforms go into place and take effect."