Clinton had come, she told the small room of invited guests, to “do a lot more listening than talking.”

“After all the Twitter rants and conspiracy theories we’ve been hearing recently, it’s time for a substantive discussion about how we protect our country,” Clinton said, characterizing Trump’s response to the Orlando massacre that left 49 dead on Sunday.

The event is a staple of Clinton’s presidential campaign and they are — in some cases, by design — the opposite of the mega-rallies and flashy events that are Trump’s cup of tea.

Joined by a former military officer, a military spouse, and former enlisted service members and Virginia’s first lady Dorothy McAuliffe, Clinton delved deep into policy for over an hour. The conversation shifted from sequestration cuts to military programs to health care to the availability of jobs near military bases.

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There was no doubt, however, that Clinton was focused squarely on Trump.

Reiterating her critique of the ideas that he has presented to combat terrorism, she described them as “inflammatory,” “wrong,” and “dangerous.”

In particular, Clinton said his proposed ban on Muslims from entering the United States demonstrated that he did not “grasp” what was necessary to combat terrorism.

She noted that the attacker in Orlando was born in the United States, specifically in Queens — just miles from where Trump was born.

“A ban on Muslims would not have stopped this attack. Neither would a wall. I don’t know how one builds a wall to keep the internet out,” Clinton said. “Not one of Donald Trump's reckless ideas would have saved a single life in Orlando.”

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“It’s just more evidence that he is temperamentally unfit and totally unqualified to be commander-in-chief,” she added.

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Clinton has kept a fairly light campaign schedule this week, in the days after a gunman killed 49 inside an Orlando gay club, terrorism and national security have overtaken the national political debate.

The moment opened an opportunity for both candidates to present sharp distinctions on their strategies for combating Islamic State-inspired terrorism.

Trump doubled down on his proposed ban on Muslims entering the United States and criticized Clinton and President Obama for failing prevent refugees from Muslim countries from entering the United States.

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Clinton pledged to tackle lone wolf terrorists who are inspired by propaganda to carry out terror attacks and called for a ban on military-style assault weapons like the one that the gunman used to carry out the Orlando attack.

"Military-style assault weapons ... have no place on our streets," Clinton said. "Surely we can agree if the FBI is watching you for suspected terrorist links, you should not be able to buy a gun with no questions asked."

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After the massacre in Orlando, a campaign stop in Wisconsin with President Obama was cancelled and replaced with this event in Virginia, a state where the military community is a large and will be a critically important constituency in the general election.

“The burden on our law enforcement, our intelligence professionals, and our military is enormous,” Clinton said. “You deserve a commander-in-chief who will provide smart steady leadership.”