Leah Millis/Reuters
In a press conference Monday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said President Trump and first lady Melania Trump will travel to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday to “grieve” with the community after 11 people died in the synagogue massacre. “He adores Jewish Americans as part of his own family. The president is the grandfather of several Jewish grandchildren. His daughter is a Jewish descendant of holocaust survivors,” Sanders said. “Tomorrow, the president and first lady will travel to Pennsylvania to express the support of the American people and grieve with the Pittsburgh community.”
Sanders also claimed that Trump is not “placing blame” on the media, despite his Sunday tweet pinning the divisiveness in the U.S. on the reporting of “Fake News.” “The very first action that the president did was condemn these acts. The very first thing that the media did was condemn the president and go after and try to place blame, not just the president but everyone in this administration,” she said. “That is outrageous that anybody other than the individual who carried out the crime would hold that responsibility.” Robert Bowers allegedly gunned down 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue Saturday and told one police officer, “I just want to kill Jews.” Bowers has since been slapped with 29 federal charges, including two hate crimes.