No, he couldn't. That wouldn't have allowed him to take center stage at the scene.Peduto spoke with The Washington Post on Saturday about dealing with the aftermath of the shooting late last month that killed 11 people — the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history.
He told the newspaper that he was standing outside of the synagogue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood when he received a call from the president.
Trump offered thoughts and prayers and vowed to help Peduto with anything he needed, the mayor said. The president even offered a direct line to the White House.
The president quickly veered into discussing the need for harsher death penalty laws as a method of deterring mass murderers, Peduto recalled to The Post.
Peduto said he was so stunned, he could not respond to Trump’s remarks.
“I’m literally standing two blocks from 11 bodies right now. Really?” Peduto thought at the time, he told the Post. He noted how he felt numb.
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"I ended the conversation pretty quickly after that," he added, saying the conversation only lasted about three minutes.
>Peduto did not meet with Trump when he visited the synagogue last week.
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The mayor had asked the president to postpone his trip so that it would not overlap with the funerals for the victims.
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“He could have chosen to go to the Holocaust Museum and lay a wreath with his wife. Or put together a fund in order to memorialize the 11 people whose lives were lost for perpetuity, in the museum.”
The Hill
...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.A group of progressive Jewish leaders penned an open letter telling the Trump he is not welcome in Pittsburgh until he denounces white nationalism.
Over 86,000 people signed on to a petition from the group, the Pittsburgh affiliate of Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice, telling the president he is not welcome in the city.
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The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.
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