A president shunned

We witnessed an unprecedented event Tuesday: the shunning of a president at a critical moment requiring presidential leadership. President Trump went ahead with his planned visit to Pittsburgh to mourn with victims and political leaders as funerals began for the 11 gunned down in a Pittsburgh synagogue three days earlier. Many called for Trump to cancel his visit citing his three and a half years of endless inflammatory rhetoric against individuals, groups and institutions that began his presidential campaign in June 2015. They charge his posturing has coarsened America's political culture, possibly even inciting the spike in threats and actual violence against the targets of Trump's verbal venom.

Steve Halle, nephew of murder victim Daniel Stein, rejected Trump's offer to meet with the Stein family saying Trump's comments that an armed guard would have prevented the tragedy "immediately" were unhelpful and disrespectful of the community. Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto called on Trump to cancel his visit and wouldn't meet with him when he didn't. None of the 4 GOP and Democratic House and Senate leaders would join Trump in Pittsburgh. Ditto for Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf and Allegheny County Executive Richard Fitzgerald, who leaves near the Synagogue. Immediately following his visit Trump renewed his verbal war against the media as the cause of current US political extremism; then changed channels on the massacre by touting his bizarre and unconstitutional plan to end birthright citizenship.

The shunning of a president at such an important event may never have occurred before in US history, but with the boundless hate inspiring rhetoric which appears wired into Trump's character, it is not likely to be the last.