President Donald Trump and the first lady, joined by the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka Trump, visited Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue Tuesday afternoon in the wake of the massacre at the house of worship this weekend.
As Rabbi Jeffrey Myers — who escaped the gunfire that killed 11 on Saturday morning — was outside the Tree of Life to greet the president, protesters gathered near the synagogue awaiting Trump’s arrival.
Thousands of people from all faiths, united in their anger, marched toward the synagogue.
Rev. Susan Rothenberg, a Presbyterian minister who lives down the street from the synagogue, was among those shouting and holding banners — and she encouraged other neighbors, including children, to join her.
“Words have meaning!” neighbors screamed.
“I’m just going to pay my respects,” Trump told Fox News on Monday. “I’m also going to the hospital to see the officers and some of the people that were so badly hurt. So — and I really look forward to going — I would have done it even sooner, but I didn’t want to disrupt anymore.”
The President and First Lady lit a candle with the rabbis and Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer in honor of the 11 victims.
They also placed stones, as part of Jewish tradition, and white roses on the Stars of David set up in a makeshift memorial for those killed.
After visiting the synagogue, the president and first lady arrived at a hospital where they met with medical staff and officers who were wounded in the attack.