U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday that the violent attacks in Europe this week "prove" that he is "right" about his plans to institute tough screening of Muslims attempting to enter the United States after he assumes power next month.
"You know my plans. All along, I've been proven to be right. 100 percent correct. What's happening is disgraceful," Trump said in a brief exchange with reporters in Florida, where he is continuing to interview candidates to fill key positions in his administration.
Asked about the truck attack on a Christmas market in Berlin that killed 12 people and the assassination of a Russian diplomat in Ankara, Trump said, "Terrible. Terrible. What's going on is terrible, terrible."
He described the violence as "an attack on humanity. That's what it is. An attack on humanity, and it's got to be stopped."
In his lengthy run for the White House, Trump at first called for an outright ban on Muslims entering the United States, but since then has promised to start "extreme vetting" of people trying to enter the U.S. from countries where there have been terrorist attacks.
European authorities are engaged in a massive manhunt for a Tunisian, Anis Amri, with connections to the Islamic State network in Germany for questioning in the Berlin attack.
The off-duty Turkish policeman who gunned down Moscow's ambassador to Turkey at an art gallery was himself shot by police.