Trump and first lady visit Pittsburgh to honor victims of synagogue shooting
President Trump and first lady Melania Trump received a mixed reception in Pittsburgh Tuesday where they honored the victims of Saturday's shooting at Tree of Life Synagogue, with audible protests nearby during parts of their visit.
At the synagogue, the first lady and the president entered the vestibule and lit a candle for the 11 victims. Afterwards, they went outside and laid stones from the White House and white roses at each of the stars for the victims, a traditional custom in Judaism. They were trailed by first daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, who are Jewish.
As the Trumps placed their tributes outside the synagogue, protesters nearby shouted that the president was not welcome. Shouts of "Words matter!" and "Trump, go home!" could be heard from demonstrators gathered not far from where a gunman had opened fire on Saturday.
Near the synagogue, flowers, candles and chalk drawings filled the corner, including a small rock painted with the number "6,000,011," adding the victims this week to the estimated number of Jews killed in the Holocaust. Saturday's shooting is believed to be the deadliest attack on Jews on American soil in history.
The president and first lady then spent more than an hour at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, where some of the victims are recovering. The couple's motorcade passed several hundred protesters on the street and a sign that said "It's your fault." Inside, Mr. Trump visited with wounded police officers and spent an hour with the widow of victim Dr. Richard Gottfried, according to White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. President Trump also met with Tim Matson, an officer and patient in ICU, Anthony Burke, a patient who was discharged, and wounded officer Tyler Paschel, according to the White House.
Hundreds of protesters assembled to show their displeasure with Trump's presence, some carrying signs that said "Hate has No Home in Squirrel Hill" and "Trump Loves Nazis." As Mr. Trump's motorcade wound through downtown Pittsburgh, some onlookers greeted the president with downturned thumbs.
Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said now was not the best time for the president to visit. Beth Melena, campaign spokeswoman for Wolf, said the governor based his decision to stay away on input from the victims' families, who told him they did not want the president to be there on the day their loved ones were being buried. The first funeral service were held for three victims Tuesday, Jerry Rabinowitz, Cecil Rosenthal and his younger brother, David.
None of the four congressional leaders who were invited joined the president on the trip. A spokesman for Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he already had events in his home state of Kentucky, pushing back on the suggestion that he declined. Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan's office said he could not attend on short notice. Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi also opted not to participate.