The nation turns to a president who has often struggled with empathy and inclusion to provide consolation and unity.
In moments like this, the aftermath of yet another mass shooting—this one targeted at a synagogue in Pittsburgh—Americans tend to turn to the president for consolation and inspiration. On Saturday, as they turn to Donald Trump, it’s unclear what they might receive from a president whose decisions in moments of crisis, especially this week, are sometimes off-key.
While information remains fragmentary and incomplete, a man authorities have identified as Robert Powers, 46, entered the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood and opened fire during shabbat services. Police told local media the man shouted, “All Jews must die.” The director of public safety in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, confirmed Saturday afternoon that 11 people were killed and six were injured, including four police officers, all in stable condition. Two of the four officers were first on the scene.
President Trump first commented on Twitter Saturday morning, saying, “People in Squirrel Hill area should remain sheltered. Looks like multiple fatalities. Beware of active shooter. God Bless All!” An hour and a half later, he added, “Events in Pittsburgh are far more devastating than originally thought.”
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He made his first extended remarks on the shootings before a group of future farmers in Indianapolis shortly after 3 p.m. as he stopped over on his way to a scheduled political rally in Murphysboro, Illinois, which the president said he was considering canceling.
“Our minds cannot comprehend the cruel hate and the twisted malice that can cause a person to unleash such terrible violence during a baby-naming ceremony,” Trump said. “This was a baby-naming ceremony at a sacred house of worship. Anti-Semitism and the widespread persecution of Jews represents one of the ugliest and darkest features of human history. The vile hate filled poison of anti-Semitism must be condemned and confronted everywhere and anywhere it appears. There must be no tolerance of anti-Semitism in America or for any form of religious or racial hatred or prejudice.
“We are praying for the families of the victims, and our hearts go out to the wounded law enforcement officers in Pittsburgh—very badly wounded and very brave,” Trump said. “We mourn for the unthinkable loss of life that took place today, and we pledge in their name to fight for a future of justice, safety, tolerance, morality, dignity and love. We must all rise above the hate, move past our divisions and embrace our common destiny as Americans. That doesn’t mean that we can’t fight hard and be strong and say what’s on our mind, but we have to always remember the element of love and dignity and respect.”
Asked at Joint Base Andrews before leaving Washington Saturday morning whether the shooting suggested a need for stronger gun laws, he demurred.
“If they had some kind of a protection inside the temple maybe it could have been a very much different situation,” he said. “They didn’t, and he was able to do things that unfortunately he shouldn’t be able to do.”
National traumas often bring out the finest and most indelible moments for individual commanders in chief: Ronald Reagan’s speech after the Challenger explosion; George W. Bush’s famous “I can hear you!” ad lib at Ground Zero; Barack Obama’s comments after the shootings at Sandy Hook and Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, which earned him the “consoler in chief” sobriquet.
Trump, however, has struggled in such moments. Though he typically thrives on attention, he seems uncomfortable when he can’t control the news, as in this case. Beyond that, he is not deft in expressing empathy and consolation. After Hurricane Harvey hit, he seemed more interested in the size of the storm than the travails of its victims. His response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico was even more widely panned. During a short visit, Trump indulged in self-congratulation and was then photographed tossing desperately needed supplies to the displaced as though shooting a basketball.
But there’s no need to look that far back to see Trump striking an off-key note during a crisis. The spate of bombs sent to critics of the president’s this week demonstrates the problem well. Faced with assassination attempts aimed at a former president and others, Trump on Wednesday initially called for unity, but by a rally Wednesday night was back to aggressively bashing opponents. On Thursday, he blamed the press for the attacks. On Friday, he suggested the bombs were a “false flag” designed to hurt his Republican Party in the impending midterm elections.
There are legitimate questions about Trump’s role in fomenting hate and division throughout the country, though it is difficult to draw straight lines to particular acts of violence. Unlike the suspect in the bombings, who demonstrated a great affinity for the president, social-media posts by the suspect in Pittsburgh indicate not only hatred of Jews but also fierce dislike for Trump.
But even setting those questions aside, the work of consolation and unity don’t come naturally to Trump. His determination to project strength makes it hard for him to express softer emotions effectively. He has not contacted the targets of the mail bombs, saying on Friday, “I think we’ll probably pass” on reaching out to them.
He repeated this pattern in his initial comments on the synagogue, offering the tepid remark that the massacre was “a shame.” And rather than express condolences for the victims, he jumped to the idea that places of worship ought to have armed guards. In fact, some synagogues have hired armed guards. A Charlottesville temple hired security last year in preparation for a white-supremacist march there. After violence broke out, Trump said there were “very fine people on both sides.”
Trump also suggested that such violence is inevitable.
“The world is a violent world,” he said. “And you think when you’re over it, it just sort of goes away, but then it comes back in the form of a mad man, a whacko. I think one thing we should is we should stiffen up our laws in terms of the death penalty.”
Other members of the Trump administration were faster to offer more conventional responses. Trump’s daughter Ivanka, a convert to Orthodox Judaism, condemned anti-Semitic bigotry:
Vice President Mike Pence, on a campaign swing in Nevada, said, “There is no place in America for violence or anti-semitism and this evil must end.
