Donald Trump was asked by the mayor of Pittsburgh, by Jewish leaders, and by the families of slain victims to stay out of the city while the dead from the Tree of Life Jewish Synagogue were buried. Trump chose to ignore those requests.
Melania and I were treated very nicely yesterday in Pittsburgh. The Office of the President was shown great respect on a very sad & solemn day. We were treated so warmly. Small protest was not seen by us, staged far away. The Fake News stories were just the opposite-Disgraceful! pic.twitter.com/9B9HgCF1G9
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 31, 2018
No one doubts that the Jewish community who were stuck with hosting Trump instead of focusing on their grief and comforting the families of the victims were kind to the president and his wife. Of course they were greeted warmly; that’s generally what happens in a religious community.
The protests, however, were also valid. The city of Pittsburgh had every right to resist a visit from the president at such a contentious time, and the president should have respected that. He should have respected the mayor’s requests to stay away to leave police free to protect the funerals. He should have respected the leaders of the Jewish faith who said his presence there was a distraction and inappropriate. He should have listened to the resident of Pittsburgh who were outraged by his appearance.
He should have, but he didn’t. That’s the continued theme of Trump’s presidency.
Instead of doing what he should have done, Trump took to Twitter the morning after the funerals, a day in which even more funerals are taking place in Pittsburgh, to tweet about the “fake news” media and how they treat him. Eleven people lie dead, but what America should be focused on, according to Trump, is how hard he has it as president.
Twitter wasn’t feeling like being accommodating of that request. Read some of their comments below:
Featured image screenshot via YouTube