Tag: Pittsburge synagogue shooting

Trump Says Pittsburgh Shooter and Mail Bomber Stopped His ‘Incredible’ Midterm Momentum

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On Thursday, President Donald Trump said the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter and the mail bomber who sent packages to CNN and Democratic targets stopped his “incredible” midterm momentum.

“Now, we did have two maniacs stop a momentum that was incredible. Because for 7 days, nobody talked about the elections. It stopped a tremendous momentum.” Trump said, before adding, “More importantly, we have to take care of our people, and we don’t care about momentum when it comes to a disgrace like just happened to the country, but it did nevertheless stop a certain momentum.”

He then said the momentum is once again picking up.

During the same rally, Trump also declared the election the “election of Kavanaugh” and “caravans.”

[Mediaite]

Trump, Asked by Reporter If Soros Is Funding the Caravan, Says ‘I Wouldn’t Be Surprised’

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Speaking outside the White House on Wednesday, President Donald Trump refused to rule out the possibility that George Soros might be behind the migrant caravan.

Trump was first asked if he thought someone was funding the caravan.

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Trump replied.

“George Soros?” a reporter pressed.

“I don’t know who, but I wouldn’t be surprised,” Trump continued on. “A lot of people say yes.”

A “lot of people” includes Fox News folks like Lou Dobbs and Laura Ingraham, as well as pro-Trump Congressman Matt Gaetz who tweeted out this:

The conspiracy theory — which apparently dates back to March — may also have contributed to the synagogue slayings in Pittsburgh.

Standing on the White House lawn on Wednesday, Trump gave no further indication about why he would “not be surprised” that Soros was involved, although blaming Soros has proven popular among Trump’s base.

[Mediaite]

Trump Goes After the Media for Coverage of His Pittsburgh Visit: Trying to Spread ‘Anger and Division’

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On Wednesday, President Donald Trump held a rally in Florida where talk quickly turned to pointing fingers at the media for sowing “anger and division” in wake of the tragedy in Pittsburgh.

Trump started out by addressing the horrific slaughter of 11 at a Pittsburgh area synagogue on Saturday.

He then talked about his visit to the city, a visit that was met by protesters.

Earlier today, Trump said that there was only a “small protest” in Pittsburgh, something the Washington Post and other outlets noted was not quite accurate.

Yet speaking of the visit at the rally, Trump doubled down.

“Yesterday’s visit to Pittsburgh was about coming together as a nation to comfort and to heal,” Trump began.

Then, venting against the media, the President of the United States said this: “After this day of unity and togetherness, I came home and sadly turned on the news and watched as the far left media once again used tragedy to sow anger and division.”

The crowd booed at the mention of the media.

“Sadly, they took a small group of protesters, far away from where we were because we could not have been treated better,” Trump continued on. “The first lady and myself, but we’re representing the presidency, and they did everything in their power to try to play it up and push people apart. That’s what’s happening.”

The crowd booed again.

“It was fake, and it was make-believe what they said. I came home, looked forward to seeing it, and it was sad,” Trump further opined. “When we talk about division, this is a big part of the division, right there. The far left media has spread terrible lies and stories about the Trump Administration and the tens of millions of people who make up our great movement, the greatest political movement in the history of our country.”

[Mediaite]

Trump Takes No Blame For Bomber’s Threats to Media, Democrats: He Was ‘Insane for a Long Time’

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President Donald Trump gave an interview to Fox News’ Laura Ingraham — which is set to air later Monday night — in which he reiterated that he bears no responsibility for the apparent supporter of his who was arrested last Friday in connection with last week’s bomb scare.

In a preview clip of Trump’s interview, Trump rejected the idea that the bomber’s actions have anything to do with him.

“You look at his medical records. He was insane for a long time,” Trump said. “Bernie Sanders had a fan who shot [Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA)]. He was a total maniac. Nobody puts his name in the headline, Bernie Sanders in the headline.”

Fox News described a separate portion of the interview in which Trump defended referred to himself as a “nationalist” at a recent rally. While critics have expressed concern that Trump’s proclamation carries racial undertones, the president insisted that the term is only meant to convey his love of America.

“As soon as you make any statement nowadays with the political correctness world, they make a big deal. I’m not a globalist, but I want to take care of the globe, but first I have to take care of our country. I want to help people around the world, but we have to take care of our country, or we won’t have a country, including — we have to take care of our country at the border.”

[Mediaite]

Kellyanne Conway cites ‘anti-religiosity’ in Pittsburgh shooting

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Kellyanne Conway cited “anti-religiosity” on Monday in discussing the mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue.

Conway’s remarks during a discussion on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” came less than 72 hours after the deadliest attack on Jews in American history. The alleged shooter, Robert Bowers, targeted Jews online and made anti-Semitic comments during the shooting, law enforcement officials said.

“The anti-religiosity in this country that is somehow in vogue and funny, to make fun of anybody of faith. To constantly be making fun of people who expresses religion,” said Conway, who serves as counselor to President Donald Trump.

“The late night comedians. The un-funny people on TV shows. It’s always anti-religious. And remember, these people were gunned down in their place of worship’,” Conway continued. “As were the people in South Carolina several years ago. And they were there because they’re people of faith and it’s that faith that needs to bring us together.”

As the weather gets colder and furry intruders start looking for shelter, the only animals people want in their houses are their family pets.

“This is no time to be driving God out of the public square. No time to be making fun of people.”

Conway’s comments, which went unchallenged on the program, were made just before she told reporters that she was “very happy” that Trump condemned anti-Semitism following the massacre, which left 11 dead. The President’s combative rhetoric has been scrutinized in the wake of the Pittsburgh shooting as well as last week’s potential explosive devices that were sent to several of Trump’s political opponents.

“I was very happy he came out with very strong words over the weekend though, condemning anti-Semitism and asking the country to rise above hate and evil and unify,” she said outside the White House on Monday.

Conway was referring to comments Trump made on Saturday in Illinois as he responded to news of the shooting. “It looks definitely like it’s an anti-Semitic crime, and that is something you wouldn’t believe could still be going on,” he said at the time.

Asked if Trump would denounce white nationalists, Conway said, “Please don’t lose the lesson of today which is anti-Semitism in all forms. It is evil and it still is being perpetrated around this world. Please remember the 11 who were murdered because of their faith.”

Conway’s husband, George Conway, a frequent public critic of the President despite his wife’s position, also weighed in on Monday morning. Instead of directly commenting on the matter, Conway tweeted a quote from a Washington Post op-ed published on Sunday by Patti Davis, the daughter of former President Ronald Reagan.

“This president will never offer comfort, compassion or empathy to a grieving nation. It’s not in him. When questioned after a tragedy, he will always be glib and inappropriate. So I have a wild suggestion: Let’s stop asking him. His words are only salt in our wounds,” the tweet read, citing Davis’ op-ed.

[CNN]

Trump Rails Against ‘Fake News’ for Blaming Him for the ‘Division and Hatred’ in the Country

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On Sunday night, President Donald Trump lashed out at the media for blaming him for the “division and hatred” in the country.

“The Fake News is doing everything in their power to blame Republicans, Conservatives and me for the division and hatred that has been going on for so long in our Country,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Actually, it is their Fake & Dishonest reporting which is causing problems far greater than they understand!”

Trump’s tweet comes on the same week as Cesar Sayoc, who attended a Trump rally and had Trumpian slogans and photos plastered on his van was arrested for sending explosive devices to CNN, the Obamas, the Clintons and others.

The tweet also comes just one day after suspected shooter Robert Bowers opened fire in a Pittsburgh synagogue, killing 11.

Bowers was also reportedly sparked to action, in part, over rhetoric about the migrant caravan.

[Mediaite]

Trump falsely says NYSE opened day after Sept. 11 attacks to justify holding rally after Pittsburgh shooting

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President Donald Trump falsely claimed Saturday that the New York Stock Exchange re-opened the day after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in an effort to justify holding a rally on the same day that a mass shooting occurred at a synagogue in Pittsburgh.

Speaking at a planned campaign rally in Illinois, Trump said he had weighed whether to cancel his rally as well as a speech at an agricultural convention earlier in the day in Indianapolis, Indiana, but ultimately decided against it, saying such a move would amount to giving the killer an edge. He compared his decision to continue with the rally to reopening the NYSE after the September 11 attacks, something that did not happen.

“And with what happened early today — that horrible, horrible attack in Pittsburgh — I was saying maybe I should cancel both this and that,” Trump said, referring to the rally and his earlier appearance at the agricultural convention. “And then I said to myself, I remember Dick Grasso, a friend of mine, great guy. He headed up the New York Stock Exchange on September 11. And the New York Stock Exchange was open the following day. He said — and what they had to do to open it you wouldn’t believe. We won’t even talk to you about it. But he got that exchange open.”

“We can’t make these sick, demented, evil people important. And when we start changing around our lives and changing around our schedules … we can’t allow people like this to become important,” Trump said. “And when we change all of our lives in order to accommodate them, it’s not acceptable.”

In fact, as CNN reported at the time, the NYSE closed after the attacks and did not reopen until September 17 because many of the workers were lost or injured in the attack on the World Trade Center, which was just blocks from the NYSE in Manhattan’s financial district, and much of the communications and utilities needed to trade stocks were damaged or destroyed.

It was the longest shutdown for the NYSE since the Great Depression.

Bloomberg first reported Trump’s error.

Trump also used his rally to condemn the shooting that took place earlier Saturday at the Tree of Life synagogue, leaving 11 dead.

“This evil anti-Semitic attack is an assault on all of us. It’s an assault on humanity. It will require all of us working together to extract the hateful poison of anti-Semitism from the world,” he said.

“The scourge of anti-Semitism cannot be ignored, cannot be tolerated and cannot be allowed to continue.”

[CNN]

Trump Blasts ‘Crazed & Stumbling Lunatic’ Tom Steyer Days After He Was Targeted By Bomb

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Mere days ago, President Donald Trump was calling for a new “tone and civility” in politics after the arrest of a man accused of mailing pipe bombs to several top Democratic leaders. On Sunday, that was all out the window as he slammed Democratic donor Tom Steyer following an interview with CNN. Steyer was the intended recipient of one of the more than a dozen pipe bombs that were sent to Trump critics.

On Sunday, Steyer talked on CNN about the “political violence” that Trump and the Republican Party had created across the country. Shortly after the interview, Trump took to Twitter to blast the billionaire Democratic activist. “Just watched Wacky Tom Steyer,” Trump wrote. “He comes off as a crazed & stumbling lunatic who should be running out of money pretty soon. As bad as their field is, if he is running for President, the Dems will eat him alive!”

Steyer, who has repeatedly called for Trump’s impeachment, hit back at the president on Twitter. “It is unthinkable that in the midst of the horrible political violence our president would resort to name-calling instead of repairing the damage to the fabric of our country,” Steyer wrote.

During the interview with CNN, Steyer said that while there had been “bad behavior” by members of both parties, he noted Republicans are less likely to condemn those who say violent things. “You don’t find prominent Democrats who are leading chants with violent overtones like ‘Lock her up,’ ‘CNN sucks’ ― all the kinds of attempts to play to people’s strongest emotions,” Steyer said. “That creates an atmosphere where anything can bubble up and anything is bubbling up.”

[Slate]

Trump on Synagogue Shooting: If They Had an Armed Guard, ‘Results Would Have Been Far Better’

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President Donald Trump briefly spoke to reporters this afternoon about the horrific shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh, and he was asked at one point about taking action regarding gun laws.

“This has little to do with it,” the President said. “If they had protection inside, the results would have been far better… If they had some kind of a protection inside the temple, maybe it could have been a very much different situation.”

Trump specifically said an “armed guard” would have been able to stop the shooter, and he talked about stiffening up death penalty laws.

Officials have so far confirmed that three officers were shot.

[Mediaite]

On Day of Mass Shooting, Trump Jokes He Nearly Canceled Speech Due To ‘Bad Hair Day’

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On the day of a horrific shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue that claimed the lives of at least 11 people, some people wondered if President Donald Trump would go ahead with planned events for the day, including speaking at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis and a rally in Illinois.

Trump decided to go ahead with both events, but he did joke at the convention for young future farmers that he almost canceled for another reason ― a bad hair day.

He recalled for the crowd that earlier in the day, he had been holding a news conference about the mass shooting ― which he referred to as a “very unfortunate news conference” ― when he became drenched from the wind and rain. The elements apparently left his hair looking not exactly the way he likes it.

“I said, ‘Maybe I should cancel this arrangement because I have a bad hair day,’” he told the crowd. “And the bad news ― somebody said, ‘Actually it looks better than it usually does.’”

Though he drew laughter from the crowd, many people found the joke to be in poor taste, given the circumstances.

[Huffington Post]

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