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Alongside the first lady and prominent Jewish members of her administration – including her daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner – Trump poses darkly stones on the eleven Star of David markers planted in the ground on the outside of the Tree of Life synagogue. Traditional Jewish practice recalled the victims of Saturday's shooting, the worst anti-Semitic attack in American history.
Trump was greeted at the scene by Rabbi Jeffrey Myers and Israeli Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer. He lit a candle in the entrance of the synagogue, but did not venture into the shrine, which is still considered a crime scene.
Later, Trump visited wounded policemen at a local hospital. He had to return to Washington in a few hours.
Outside the synagogue, angry neighbors screamed for demonstrations and marched near the place where the president paid tribute. Several carried placards opposed to Trump's visit, carrying slogans such as "Words Matter", "Strength through Unity", "Watch Your Words" and "Hate does not work in our neighborhoods".
This was a sign that Trump 's presence in the city had not been well received by many locals and local officials, who said they had asked the White House to delay a visit after the first visit. burial of victims of the attack.
Instead, the president proceeded to stop, joined by his Jewish daughter, his son-in-law and secretary of the treasury, Steven Mnuchin.
But most of the other officials invited to participate did not attend. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Leader Nancy Pelosi were all invited to join the Speaker. but did not participate in the visit, according to two congressional sources. Through their offices, McConnell and Ryan both mentioned scheduling conflicts.
The two US senators in Pennsylvania also did not plan to join Trump in Pittsburgh. Republican Senator Pat Toomey was invited to join the president but declined, according to a spokesman, citing previous commitments in another part of the state. Democratic Senator Bob Casey has not been invited by the White House, according to his director of communications. Casey will attend a vigil for victims in southeastern Pennsylvania.
The mayor of Pittsburgh, Bill Peduto – who said this week that Trump should prevent a visit during the start of burials – also did not appear with Trump.
"Today, Mayor Peduto is focusing solely on funerals and family support," said Tim McNulty, director of communications for Peduto.
Mr. McNulty stated that "there had been communications with the White House" about the President's visit, but that officials were not aware of the last word regarding the timing of the visit. until it is made public.
The timing
With an 11-rally campaign route scheduled to begin later this week, the President's calendar is inflexible. The president insisted that his rallies of Republican candidates not be canceled after the shooting and told his aides that he was eager to follow the trail.
On Monday night, Peduto told CNN that he had informed Trump's advisers that a visit on Tuesday was too early.
"We have tried to send the message to the White House that tomorrow's priority would be the first funeral," Peduto told CNN's Anderson Cooper.
A White House official said on Tuesday that there had been discussions about planning the visit later in the week – maybe Wednesday or Thursday – but the optics to get to Pittsburgh the same day that one of the president's campaign rallies was not considered ideal.
And, said the official, the president insisted on visiting Pittsburgh because he said he would do so Saturday, long before anyone was aware of the objections of local officials.
Trump must be in Florida Wednesday night and in Missouri on Thursday night, followed by two rallies a day Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Finally, on Monday, he has three rallies.
The White House public engagement office, which liaises with representatives and local government groups, is leading the trip to Pittsburgh. One official said that he still thought the trip could work by visiting law enforcement and possibly injured policemen still in the hospital.
All presidential trips are accompanied by serious security and logistical problems. In the past, the White House said that visiting places of tragedies or disasters should be taken into account during events on the ground.
In addition to helping protect the president in Pittsburgh, the police were also charged with overseeing the funerals of the victims.
Political rhetoric
Trump's visit comes as part of a growing national debate on the president's rhetoric, including the angry and sometimes violent messages he spies at campaign rallies.
In Pittsburgh, some progressive Jewish leaders encouraged the president to stay at home. In an open letter to the president, members of the city's "Bend the Arc" organization, a progressive group, wrote that his remarks and his policy over the last three years "emboldened a white nationalist movement in full growth "and that it is not welcome. until he "denounces (fully) white nationalism".
But Myers, who was running Tree of Life in Saturday's shootout, said on CNN's "New Day" Monday that "the US president is always welcome."
"I am a citizen, he is my president and he is certainly welcome," he said.
When, in the past, Trump met families of victims after mass shootings or natural disasters, he showed an empathy that can sometimes seem scared, especially with respect to the freewheel style he uses in most contexts. He has not yet delivered a eulogy at a memorial service honoring the memory of Americans killed in armed violence or other attacks.
When Trump met family members from Parkland, Florida, in high school, he was photographed holding a note card with handwritten prompts such as "I hear" and "What would you like most that I know about your experience? " – a signal, at the very least, that some employees feared that the usual signs of empathy would not come easily to him.
Julia Jones and Leslie Holland of CNN contributed to this report.
This story has been updated.
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