Watch: Trump Kicks Off Rally by Condemning Pittsburgh 'Assault on Humanity'
At a rally in Murphysboro, Illinois, on Saturday night, President Donald Trump condemned the killings of 11 synagogue-goers in Pittsburgh, calling it an “assault on humanity.”
The attack at the Tree of Life Synagogue in the Pennsylvania city’s predominantly Jewish Squirrel Hill area claimed the lives of at least 11 people.
According to Fox News, the alleged attacker was identified as 46-year-old Robert Bowers, a man whose social media postings evinced a sort of anti-Semitic mania. Witnesses say he charged into the synagogue during services on Saturday, yelling “all Jews must die.”
He now faces 29 criminal counts and his conviction could get the death penalty.
Before speaking on behalf of GOP Rep. Mike Bost, President Trump addressed the horror that had unfolded earlier in the day.
“This evil, anti-Semitic attack is an assault on all of us. It is an assault on humanity,” the president said.
Anti-Semitism, Trump said, “must be confronted and condemned everywhere it rears its very ugly head. We must stand with our Jewish brothers and sisters to defeat anti-Semitism and vanquish the forces of hate…
“Those seeking their destruction, we will seek their destruction,” he added.
Trump also used the event to call for the death penalty against Bowers.
“We have to bring back the death penalty, they have to pay the ultimate price,” Trump said.
“We must draw a line in the sand and say very strongly, ‘never again.’”
Trump made similar sentiments on social media, where he decried “the mass murder of Jewish Americans at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.”
All of America is in mourning over the mass murder of Jewish Americans at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. We pray for those who perished and their loved ones, and our hearts go out to the brave police officers who sustained serious injuries…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 27, 2018
…This evil Anti-Semitic attack is an assault on humanity. It will take all of us working together to extract the poison of Anti-Semitism from our world. We must unite to conquer hate.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 27, 2018
“It will take all of us working together to extract the poison of anti-Semitism from our world,” the president wrote. “We must unite to conquer hate.”
During the Illinois speech, Trump also said that he had entertained thoughts of canceling the campaign event because of the massacre, but decided against it.
“We can’t allow people like this to become important,” Trump said.
“When we change all of our lives in order to accommodate them, it’s not acceptable.”
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
