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He chose the latter, insisting that his supporters in southern Illinois were numerous and unhappy that to end his plans would be to give way to a criminal. This is the second time in a week that Trump has pursued his campaign program, even in the midst of horrific acts of terror that have shaken and worried parts of the nation.
"It was a tough day for all of us," said the president as he boarded an aircraft hangar late in the evening after receiving information from counterterrorism officials aboard the Air Force One.
"This devilish anti-Semitic attack is an assault on all of us – it is an assault on humanity – it will require that we all work together to extract from the world the heinous poison of anti-Semitism," he said. Trump. "The scourge of anti-Semitism can not be ignored, can not be tolerated and can not continue."
It was a powerful message that had been accentuated during the day. Trump's first comments about the shooting, which occurred when he left Washington for the Midwest, suggested that the attack could have been prevented if the Pittsburgh synagogue had hired an armed guard.
By the time he reached his assembly site, Trump was more dotted in his rhetoric, decrying the "poison" of anti-Semitism and calling for a freer use of the death penalty to punish the killings.
"We must stand with our Jewish brothers and sisters to defeat anti-Semitism," Trump said, calling on Americans to unite to reject the violence that targets Jews for their religion.
Yet, by their nature, Trump's campaign rallies are not the place of unity or reconciliation. The sea with Red Hat supporters did not meet inside Hangar 6 at Southern Illinois Airport to talk about a national hate judgment. And the president, on many occasions, has shown little inclination to use his rallies for anything other than feeding his political base.
Earlier in the day, Trump told the press that he was considering canceling his rally. He decided not to do it, judging that such a move would amount to giving an advantage to the killer. Instead, Trump compared his decision to organize his campaign rally to the reopening of the New York Stock Exchange and the organization of professional baseball games after the September 11 terrorist attacks.
"We can not allow people like this to become important, when we change all our lives to welcome them, it's not acceptable," Trump said. "I do not want to change our lives for someone who is sick and devilish, and I do not think we should do it."
And he did not, quickly entering a campaign speech including insults against Democrats, such as California's Maxine Waters, reporters he considered "stupid and very dumb." ", as well as the famous" shut up his voice ". his defeated rival, Hillary Clinton, in 2016, usual targets of Trump, some of whom were already on the list of people sending bombs by mail this week.
On Friday morning, Trump mentioned the bombs in quotation marks and criticized the media for what he called false imputation of bombs to his own rhetoric. After the arrest of the suspect, Cesar Sayoc, in Florida, Trump said that "acts of terrorism" did not take place in the United States.
"We must never let political violence root in America," he said. "I am determined to do everything in my power as president to end it."
Trump then held a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina on Friday night, and during the event, he continued to attack the bombs' media coverage.
A law enforcement official said that Sayoc was living in a van covered with stickers expressing his support for Trump, as well as "CNN sucks" and others with targets or references on prominent Democrats and Trump's critics.
The Saturday afternoon rally in Murphysboro, Illinois, was followed by a stop in Indianapolis, Indiana, for an agriculture convention and was one of many stops in the campaign for the president as he seeks to strengthen the Republicans in the days following the election.
Trump initially said that he might not use his most striking lines. He told reporters who were waiting at the bottom of the steps outside Air Force One that he would be more dumb than his usual enthusiasm, which he attributed to the rage of the day. negative media coverage.
"I'll have a very different tone tonight," Trump said. "Frankly, I would have a very different tone if the press was unbiased, if it was honest, I would have a very different tone all the time, but I'm fighting the media."
But by the time he was in front of the crowd, Trump heard a mandate different from that of his audience.
"If you do not mind, I'm going to soften a little, just a little," Trump said, ending his explanation to keep his schedule unchanged. "Is it OK?"
The crowd shouted "no" together.
Eli Watkins of CNN and Liz Stark contributed to this report.
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