Trump visits Pittsburgh synagogue
By Jordan Fabian - 10/30/18 05:00 PM EDT
President Trump and first lady Melania Trump on Tuesday visited the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, where a gunman carried out the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history.
The Trumps paid their respects to the dead by lighting candles inside the synagogue's vestibule for each of the 11 victims of Saturday's massacre. They then laid stones atop makeshift memorial stars outside the building, a traditional Jewish mourning ritual, and also set down white flowers.
Ron Dermer, Israel's ambassador to the U.S., accompanied the president and first lady during their visit, as did Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, the president's daughter and son-in-law and White House advisers who are Jewish, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
Trump and his family members afterward visited University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Presbyterian Hospital, where he met with four police officers who were wounded by the gunman.
Trump made the trip to Pittsburgh over the objections of some public officials and Jewish leaders who asked him to put off a visit, which has been the subject of controversy amid a national debate about gun violence, anti-Semitism and political hatred.
But the president was reportedly wary of being criticized for waiting too long to visit the city and he was greeted by the rabbi of Tree of Life upon his arrival.
Rabbi Jeffrey Myers previously told CNN that Trump was "certainly welcome" to make the visit, saying, "I am a citizen. He is my president."
more
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/413939-trump-visits-pittsburgh-synagogue
