Donald Trump slams Hillary Clinton for talking email on Dallas shooting day

Donald Trump has slammed Hillary Clinton for talking about the email controversy surrounding her US presidential bid when five police officers were killed in a shootout by at least one sniper in Dallas, saying she was answering "softball questions" on a day of national tragedy.

Clinton yesterday appeared on three American networks and answered questions related to her use of a private email account as secretary of state during President Barack Obama's first term. And refuted assertion by FBI Director James Comey that she was "extremely careless" with classified information. "Isn't it sad that on a day of national tragedy Hillary Clinton is answering softball questions about her email lies on CNN," presumptive Republican presidential nominee Trump asked in a tweet yesterday.

Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, gave interviews to CNN and two other television channels - MSNBC and PBS - wherein she faced questions on the email controversy and shared her views following the "ambush style" shooting in Dallas that killed five police officers. On CNN, Clinton praised the slain Dallas officers and called the attack "an absolutely horrific event." Both Clinton and Trump cancelled their election rallies in Pennsylvania and Florida in the wake of deadly incident.

Meanwhile, New York Daily News reported that the New York Police Department Commissioner Bill Bratton has rejected Trump's request to speak to officers show solidarity with the police. But the department denied his request. "Our interest is in staying out of the politics of the moment, not to provide photo ops," Bratton told reporters. The attack has forced both the candidates to address racial divisions while showing support for US law enforcement officials.

President Barack Obama had, just ahead of the Dallas shooting, made an impassioned address from Warshaw, where he has gone to attend a NATO meet, about race and policing in the US. He cited statistics that showed that black people were far more likely to be arrested and shot by police.