Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Attack denounced
Trump at political rallies speaks out on shooting ▶
MURPHYSBORO, Ill. — President Donald Trump mourned the dead and condemned anti-Semitism on Saturday after a mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue that left 11 dead.
Nine days from elections that will determine the control of Congress, Trump stuck to his plans to appear at an agricultural convention and a political rally. Throughout the day, he expressed sorrow, called for justice and bemoaned hate, getting regular updates on the shooting.
But he also campaigned for candidates and took shots at favorite Democratic targets House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
At a rally in southern Illinois for U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, Trump condemned the shooting as an “evil anti-Semitic attack.” But he said canceling his appearance would have made “sick, demented people important.”
The White House said Trump was getting regular briefings on the attack. He spoke with the governor of Pennsylvania and the mayor of Pittsburgh. He also spoke with daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, who are Jewish.
Trump sought to energize turnout for Bost, who is fighting to hold on to a seat that was once a Democratic stronghold but turned out for Trump in 2016.
Speaking to a massive, cheering crowd at an airport hangar in southern Illinois, Trump said, “The hearts of all Americans are filled with grief following the monstrous killing.”
He told reporters before the rally that he would travel to Pittsburgh.
He targeted Pelosi and Democrats, and the crowd gleefully shouted “lock her up” in reference to Hillary Clinton. And he continued to emphasize his hard-line immigration rhetoric.
“Republicans want strong borders, no crime and no caravans,” Trump said.
Trump’s speech to a convention of the Future Farmers of America riffed on trade, jobs and some of his political enemies.
Speaking to young farmers in Indianapolis, Trump called on the country to come together. He then invited a pastor and rabbi on stage to pray.