ANTI-SEMITISM/MASS SHOOTINGS/TERRORISM/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump traveled to Pittsburgh on Tuesday [10-30-18] to offer condolences to families of the victims of the recent mass shooting at a synagogue, momentarily pausing his heated rhetoric to grieve with the mourning city. Trump, who ignored the pleas of some local officials to cancel the trip, visited the Tree of Life synagogue in the city’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood, where an attacker on Saturday [10-27-18] allegedly yelled anti-Semitic statements as he killed 11 congregants. The president, accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, lit candles in honor of each victim and placed white flowers and small stones at a memorial to those who died. He later went to a nearby hospital to meet with medical staff and people wounded in the attack. Though a swarm of journalists tracked the president’s every move, he did not speak to them nor did he make any public remarks — a rare moment of restraint for a president who has a reputation for stepping on his own message.”
–Jesus Rodriguez and Andrew Restuccia, “Trump pauses divisive rhetoric to visit grieving Pittsburgh,” Politico, October 30, 2018 10:53 am