One by one, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump made their way down a line of 11 wooden Stars of David outside the Tree of Life synagogue on Tuesday. On each, the President placed a stone, and the First Lady a white rose.
The President and his wife moved slowly and solemnly, paying their respects to the 11 who were shot and killed on Saturday inside the synagogue. It was shortly after 5 p.m., and the two -- along with Mr. Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, and son-in-law Jared Kushner, both of whom are Jewish -- had just spent 18 minutes inside the synagogue, accompanied by Tree of Life Rabbi Jeffrey Myers.
It was perhaps the most telling moment of the president’s somber visit to Pittsburgh just three days after the massacre, a visit marked by protests and pushback from local officials who expressed discontent with his appearance and chose not to attend.
Mr. Trump spent nearly four hours in the city after Air Force One touched down before 4 p.m., and traveled to the synagogue and then to UPMC Presbyterian in Oakland to visit a room of police officers and their friends and family.
Most of the president's time -- more than an hour and 20 minutes -- was spent inside the hospital, where he spoke with an officer still receiving treatment, two previously discharged and another who applied a tourniquet to one of the officers. Mr. Trump and Ivanka and Jared Kushner also visited a victim in the patient's room, and another patient unable to have visitors.
"The president kept a solemn tone and was gracious," said Dr. Steven Shapiro, UPMC chief medical and scientific officer. "One officer had his 3-month-old son and the president spent a lot of time with the baby.
"The beauty of it was," Mr. Shapiro added, "there was nothing political, nothing profound. He was interested in hearing the patients' stories and meeting the doctors and caregivers."
But Mr. Trump didn't meet with several officials who would typically attend a presidential visit, including Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. They all declined invitations from the White House, along with some congressional leaders.
Peduto spokesman Timothy McNulty said the mayor's "sole focus" was on victim funerals, which began Tuesday. Before the visit was announced, Mr. Peduto told reporters the White House should consult with families before finalizing it.
Mr. Fitzgerald said leaders needed "to respect the families' and the community's wishes."
"The last thing we need is that kind of extraordinary outside influence to distract really from what needs to be the healing of the community," he said, referring to a presidential visit. The prospect may have been appropriate in another week or two, Mr. Fitzgerald said.
When the White House invited him to appear Tuesday with Mr. Trump, he said, it signaled that Mr. Wolf and Mr. Peduto would be in attendance. But all of the men declined to participate in the visit, according to public statements.
Trump aides, asked for a response, did not speak publicly to that apparent inconsistency.
"The president's travel to Pittsburgh [Tuesday] is not political. He's coming to pay his respects on behalf of the American people and to grieve with this community," spokesman Judd P. Deere said in a statement. "We were hopeful that state and local officials would be able to join us, and we regret that they were not able to attend."
The president did not speak publicly during the nearly four-hour visit to the city, but both protesters and supporters gathered near the synagogue. Many marched peacefully, some held signs, some yelled in protest; others cried at the enormity of the tragedy the president had come to mark.
But the president's motorcade was largely unaffected by the protests. Some along the route held signs with messages like "Trump Go Home" and "Hate Isn't Welcome," but it was largely silent during his appearances in public. At the synagogue, a chant could be heard faintly in the distance: "Make America Peaceful Again!"
Shortly before Mr. Trump arrived at the synagogue, a crowd grew at Northumberland Street and Shady Avenue. Traffic slowed more than usual. Police told people to get out of the street and onto the sidewalk.
“I don’t want to be here for Trump,” one woman told a friend.
A man used strong language to criticize the president for indirectly causing the shooting. “We’re burying our friends!”
Tensions spiked at this intersection as marchers coming from Beechwood Boulevard met police with sirens blazing and at least one man was wrestled away by officers.
As the march proceeded down Northumberland, singing softly its prayer as before, they passed the Zone 4 police station. That was when they broke into a loud and sustained ovation of clapping and cheers for the public safety workers. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
The White House also invited top leaders of the House and Senate to join the president in Pittsburgh, but all declined.
Their offices gave various reasons, although one Washington source familiar with the event plans said Mr. Peduto’s wishes played a role in their decisions. Mr. Peduto on Tuesday attended a service for brothers Cecil and David Rosenthal, two of the victims.
President Trump has arrived in Pittsburgh with Melania. pic.twitter.com/3WyIfAj6wr
— Julian Routh (@julianrouth) October 30, 2018
A spokesman for House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi confirmed that — along with similar postponement requests by other local officials -— was her reason for declining.
A spokesman for House Speaker Paul Ryan said the invitation came on Monday and he wasn’t able to travel on such short notice
Big police presence on Terrace St. in Oakland. They shut down the streets in advance of Trump arrival. pic.twitter.com/pET9PaANCm
— David Templeton (@TEMPLETOONS) October 30, 2018
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell’s spokeswoman said the event conflicted with two events in Kentucky where he was scheduled to speak.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer’s office also cited a scheduling conflict.
After the visit to the hospital, Mr. Trump's motorcade left, and he departed on Air Force One from Pennsylvania Air National Guard's 171st Air Refueling Wing in Coraopolis at around 7:30 p.m.
Mr. Trump has called the attack a “wicked act of mass murder” that “is pure evil, hard to believe and frankly something that is unimaginable.” Anti-Semitism “must be confronted anywhere and everywhere it appears,” he has said.
Adam Smeltz: 412-263-2625, asmeltz@post-gazette.com, @asmeltz. Bob Batz Jr., David Templeton and Andrew Goldstein contributed to this report.
First Published: October 30, 2018, 8:11 p.m.
Updated: October 31, 2018, 1:53 a.m.
