A poll from CBS News found that 51 percent of Americans did not like Donald Trump's response to the mass shooting in Orlando. | Getty Poll: Majority of Americans disapprove of Trump's Orlando response

A majority of Americans surveyed in a CBS News poll out Wednesday say they disapprove of the way Donald Trump is responding to the terrorist shooting at a gay nightclub Sunday in Orlando, Florida.

In the wake of the deadliest shooting in American history as well as the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil since 9/11, 51 percent said they did not like the way Trump has been handling the situation, compared with 25 percent who said they approve and 24 percent who said they do not know or did not give an answer.


Trump drew bipartisan blowback on Sunday after he tweeted, "Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism, I don't want congrats, I want toughness & vigilance. We must be smart!"

Americans are markedly more positive when it comes to the way they feel about President Barack Obama's response, with 44 percent giving him favorable marks, 34 percent unfavorable and 22 percent who did not know or declined to respond. As far as Hillary Clinton is concerned, Americans are largely split, with 36 percent favoring her response to this point and 34 percent disapproving, with 30 percent saying they did not know or did not answer.

Trump, Obama and Clinton have all directly addressed the attacks in multiple public speeches and televised appearances throughout the week.

About a quarter of Republicans surveyed (26 percent) said they disapproved of Trump's response, while 50 percent said they approved of it. By comparison, 60 percent of Democrats said they supported Clinton's response and just 17 percent said they did not.

Overall, 57 percent said the attack at the Pulse night club that killed 49 people would be best characterized as both a hate crime and an act of terrorism, while 14 percent said it was mostly a terrorist act and 25 percent said it was mostly a hate crime.

The poll was conducted by telephone from June 13-14, surveying a random sample of 1,001 adults nationwide with an overall margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.