Trump Motorcade Forced To Divert After Pittsburgh Protesters Turn Out En Masse

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This past weekend, 11 people lost their lives at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh when a shooter inspired in part by President Donald Trump’s rhetoric launched an attack. This Tuesday, just days following the incident, Trump visited the town against the stated wishes of interests as high ranking as Mayor Bill Peduto.

In response, during his several hours in the area, large masses of protesters turned out. The protests weren’t planned far in advance — the administration only announced plans for a visit on Monday. People are just tired of President Donald Trump.

At least two different groups led protests, including IfNotNow, a progressive Jewish organization, and Bend The Arc, a similarly styled one. The latter group’s gathering ended up with as many as 5,000 people at one point, all of whom were gathered close to the synagogue over the space of three intersections, although police stopped the peaceful group from getting TOO close. (Trump visited the synagogue during his time in the city.)

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Many of those gathered joined in traditional Jewish mourning rituals, including reciting prayers that are commonly shared during a period of mourning over a death.

Reporter Julia Reinstein shared that she’d “never seen” a demonstration quite like what she witnessed firsthand in Pittsburgh late Tuesday, considering it was unfolding right in the middle of the Squirrel Hill neighborhood, which houses the Tree of Life Synagogue. It wasn’t some takeover of a large public monument. Thousands of people who already live among each other simply gathered to pay their respects — setting themselves apart from any spectacle Trump wanted in the process.

IfNotNow organizer Arielle Cohen asserted of the president:

‘He’s fostered an administration of white supremacy and he is not welcome here in our time of mourning.’

Similarly, the Bend The Arc crowd asserted:

‘President Trump, you are not welcome in Pittsburgh until you fully denounce white nationalism.’

Similar messaging appeared on signs carried by the crowd.

As for the city’s leaders, Peduto turned down an invitation to meet with the president during his time in the city on Tuesday. He wasn’t interested in a photo op and instead decided to keep his presence with grieving families.

Trump, meanwhile, has continued to hold fast to the idea that there’s no reason for anyone to be concerned about his behavior.

According to him — and this is a line he’s held to in the aftermath of the Pittsburgh shooting and the recent string of bombing attempts on high profile Democrats — it’s the victims’ fault.

He asserted, for instance, that the “Fake News Media, the true Enemy of the People, must stop the open and obvious hostility… and we will then be able to bring all sides together in Peace and Harmony.”

He offered those comments after the Pittsburgh shooting took place, thereby apparently blaming the media not only for their own calamity — CNN was targeted by bombs too — but also for the tragedies of others.

In other words, he wants everyone to succumb to the wishes of those like the Pittsburgh shooter and the bomber and shut up.

If the thousands gathered in Pittsburgh are any indication, that’s not happening anytime soon.

Featured Image via Screenshot from the Video