Despite tragedy, Trump holds his scheduled rally

MURPHYSBORO, ILL. » Against the backdrop of the national tragedy of a deadly shooting rampage in a Pittsburgh synagogue, President Donald Trump campaigned in southern Illinois for Republicans on Saturday and said Americans should not “change our life for somebody that’s sick and evil.”

Trump, attempting to boost first-term U.S. Rep. Mike Bost in a tight battle against Democrat Brendan Kelly, acknowledged thoughts of canceling the political rally while authorities in Pennsylvania were still assessing the mass shooting that killed at least 11 people and wounded six others during services.

But the president — who told reporters before departing for events in Indiana and Illinois that if the synagogue had armed “protection inside, the results would have been far better” — sought in Murphysboro to balance a somber tone against rallying rhetoric aimed at keeping a Republican majority in the House with midterm elections just more than a week away.

“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 our world,” Trump said in using the incident to call for a restoration of the death penalty.

“This is a rally for Mike Bost, and I frankly, this one maybe I could have (canceled) except I don’t want to change our life for somebody that’s sick and evil and I don’t think we ever should,” he said as he stood before twin blue banners reading, “Promises Made, Promises Kept,” before the audience inside a hangar at Southern Illinois Airport.

Recognizing the gravity of the day, Trump said, “If you don’t mind, I’m going to tone it down just a bit,” prompting shouts of “No” from the crowd. Later, Trump’s mention of defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton in West Virginia coal country prompted the crowd to chant, “Lock her up.”

Speaking to an audience largely Christian conservative in a southern Illinois region that also is part of the traditional evangelical Bible Belt, Trump spoke of the crime and the need to unify among core principles.

“In America, we love our families. We love our neighbors, and we protect our community. We trust in God. We protect the freedom of worship.

And we believe in the power of prayer. We defend our Constitution. We defend our heritage. And we rally around our great American flag like nobody does,” Trump said before giving his message a more partisan tone.

“All of us here tonight are united by these same American values, and we are all fighting to defend these values in this election. This is a very, very important election,” he said.