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U.S. NEWS Wednesday 31 OctOber 2018
TRUMPS about the president's cred- appeared with Trump.
Continued from Front ibility as a unifier. Since his Beth Melena, campaign
On their arrival in Pitts- 2016 Republican cam- spokeswoman for Wolf,
burgh, the Trumps entered paign for the White House, said the governor based
the vestibule of the syna- Trump has at times been his decision to stay away
gogue, where they lit can- slow to denounce white on input from the victims'
dles for each victim before nationalists, neo-Nazis and families, who told him they
stepping outside. Shouts of other hate-filled individu- did not want the president
"Words matter!" and "Trump, als and groups that found to be there on the day their
go home!" could be heard common cause with his na- loved ones were being bur-
from demonstrators gath- tionalistic political rhetoric. ied. As Trump's motorcade
ered not far from where a Trump traveled to the his- wound through downtown
gunman had opened fire toric hub of the city's Jew- Pittsburgh, some onlook-
on Saturday. ish community as the first ers saluted the president
Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, who funerals were held for the with upraised middle fin-
had been conducting ser- victims, who range in age gers and others with down-
vices when the shots rang from 54 to 97. The dead in- turned thumbs.
out, gestured at the white clude a set of brothers, a The White House had in-
Star of David posted for husband and wife, profes- vited the top four congres-
each victim. At each, the sors, dentists and a physi- sional leaders to join Trump
president placed a stone, cian. in Pennsylvania, but none
a Jewish burial tradition, Hundreds of protesters as- accompanied him.
while the first lady added a sembled to show their dis- A spokesman for Republi- A man holds a sign outside the University of Pittsburgh's
Presbyterian Hospital before the arrival of President Donald
flower. They were trailed by pleasure with Trump's pres- can Senate Majority Lead- Trump's motorcade in Pittsburgh, Tuesday Oct. 30, 2018.
first daughter Ivanka Trump ence, some carrying signs er Mitch McConnell said he Associated Press
and her husband, Jared that said "Hate has No already had events in his
Kushner, who are Jewish. Home in Squirrel Hill" and home state of Kentucky, Paul Ryan's office said he Schumer and Democratic
Near the synagogue, flow- "Trump Loves Nazis." pushing back on the sug- could not attend on short House Minority Leader Nan-
ers, candles and chalk Squirrel Hill resident Paul gestion that he declined. notice. Democratic Sen- cy Pelosi also opted not to
drawings filled the cor- Carberry said Trump should Republican House Speaker ate Minority Leader Chuck participate.q
ner, including a small rock not have visited until the
painted with the number dead were buried.
"6,000,011," adding the "He didn't pull the trigger,
victims this week to the es- but his verbiage and ac-
timated number of Jews tions don't help," Carberry
killed in the Holocaust. said.
The Trumps later spent more But Shayna Marcus, a nurse
than an hour at the Univer- who rushed to the syna-
sity of Pittsburgh Medical gogue on Saturday to help
Center, where some of with the wounded, said she
the victims are recovering. felt that the president was
The couple's motorcade taking an unfair portion of
passed several hundred the blame.
protesters on the street and "I don't think focusing on
a sign that said "It's your Trump is the answer — or
fault." Inside, Trump visited on politics," said Marcus,
with wounded police of- whose four yarmulke-wear-
ficers and spent an hour ing boys carried signs in
with the widow of victim Dr. support of the president.
Richard Gottfried, accord- White House counselor Kel-
ing to White House press lyanne Conway, back in
secretary Sarah Huckabee Washington, told reporters:
Sanders. "If people are there to pro-
Trump stepped into the role test, that's their right. For the
of national consoler, a title president, it was not a mo-
he wears uncomfortably, ment for politics."
with his visit to the Squirrel When Air Force One
Hill neighborhood. More touched down at the air-
at home waging partisan port outside Pittsburgh, the
warfare than assuaging Trumps were not greeted
America's grief, Trump has by the usual phalanx of lo-
shied away from public dis- cal officials that typically
plays of unity in the wake of welcomes a visiting presi-
other tragedies. dent, a reflection of contro-
Sanders said Trump did not versy surrounding the visit.
speak publicly Tuesday to Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Pedu-
denounce anti-Semitism to, a Democrat, told re-
because he has spoken porters before the visit
about it before. was announced that the
"He wanted today to be White House ought to con-
about showing respect for sult with the families of the
the families and the friends victims about their prefer-
of the victims as well as for ences and asked that the
Jewish Americans," Sanders president not come during
said. a funeral. Neither he nor
Questions have long swirled Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf