Pittsburgh protesters

Trump minimizes Pittsburgh protesters, says he was welcomed warmly

By MATTHEW CHOI

President Donald Trump wrote online Wednesday that he and his wife "were treated so warmly" during their visit to Pittsburgh a day earlier, minimizing protests that flared up in response to his visit to a synagogue where 11 people were killed over the weekend in the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history.

"Melania and I were treated very nicely yesterday in Pittsburgh. The Office of the President was shown great respect on a very sad & solemn day. We were treated so warmly. Small protest was not seen by us, staged far away. The Fake News stories were just the opposite-Disgraceful!" Trump tweeted Wednesday morning, along with a video montage of his visit.

Trump flew to Pittsburgh to visit the synagogue with his wife as well as his daughter, Ivanka Trump and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, both of whom are Jewish. The president's visit was met by protesters who blamed the president's incendiary and sharply partisan rhetoric for inciting political violence.

Several Jewish leaders in the city published an open letter on Sunday saying Trump would not be welcome in the city unless he denounced white nationalism and stops "targeting" minorities. More than 82,000 additional people signed the letter by Wednesday morning. Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto had urged Trump earlier in the week not to visit before the dead were buried.

Neither Peduto nor Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf accompanied Trump during his visit to Pittsburgh. Congressional leaders from both parties turned down invitations from the White House to join the president on his visit.

Still, opposition to the president's visit was not unanimous. Another open letter to the president, signed by "members of the Pittsburgh Jewish community" thanked him for "your unwavering support of Israel" and welcomed him to the city, according to The New York Times. Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, a leader at Tree of Life, greeted the first family at the synagogue. Trump also met with law enforcement who were wounded during the firefight with the shooter.