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Trump, FLOTUS to visit Pittsburgh synagogue where deadly massacre claimed 11 lives
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump will visit the site of Saturday's synagogue massacre on Tuesday in Pittsburgh. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

Trump, FLOTUS to visit Pittsburgh synagogue where deadly massacre claimed 11 lives

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump will visit Pittsburgh on Tuesday to pay respects to the community, the White House announced Monday.

Trump and his wife are visiting the Pittsburgh area in the wake of Saturday's mass killing, which took the lives of at least 11 people and injured several more.

What are the details?

During a White House news briefing, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters, “The president cherishes the American Jewish community for everything it stands for and contributes to our country.”

Sanders, noting that some of Trump's own family is Jewish, went on to condemn the mass murder suspect's attack as an "act of hatred" and an "act of evil."

“This atrocity was a chilling act of mass murder, it was an act of hatred, and above all, it was an act of evil,” she added. “We all have a duty to confront anti-Semitism in all its forms.”

During her remarks, the press secretary became emotional over the loss of life that occurred on Saturday during services at the Tree of Life Synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

Sanders also pushed back on the notion that the president has not done enough to curb anti-Semitism in the U.S. and that he was partially to blame for the violence that unfolded at the peaceful synagogue on Saturday.

“The very first thing that the president did was condemn these heinous acts, the very first thing the media did was blame the president,” Sanders said.



Anything else?

Authorities charged the suspect in Saturday’s mass murder at the Pittsburgh synagogue with 29 federal charges. The victims’ ages range between 45 and 97 years old, and four police officers were injured in addition to others.

The suspect was taken into custody at the scene after surrendering. Investigators believe that the suspect acted alone.

Jeffrey Myers, rabbi for the synagogue where Saturday’s massacre took place, spoke with CNN's Alisyn Camerota in a Monday interview about the mass killing.

When pressed if Trump would be welcome at the synagogue amid calls for Trump to stay away from the area until he denounced white nationalism, Myers issued a graceful and genuine response.

“The president of the United States is always welcome,” Myers answered. “I’m a citizen, he’s my president. He is certainly welcome.”

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