After the deadly shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue over the weekend, local communities have been banding together to show support and give comfort to the victims and their families. That includes Muslim-led interfaith fundraising and statements of solidarity.
The White House, on the other hand, has had a less supportive and more chaotic response. Donald Trump—who tacitly eggs on anti-Semitism with his talk of globalist conspiracies and the menace of George Soros—reportedly had to be convinced by his daughter and son-in-law to formally condemn violence against Jewish people. Kellyanne Conway tried to all-lives-matter the shooting by telling Fox & Friends it was inspired by “anti-religiousity” fueled by late-night comics. And Mike Pence, the man who’s supposed to be the respectable white-washer for the Trump administration, also royally botched his pantomime of caring about religious diversity.
On Monday, Pence appeared at a campaign rally for Lena Epstein, a GOP candidate for an open congressional seat in Michigan. At the rally, he invited to the stage Rabbi Loren Jacobs for a memorial for the 11 people killed in Pittsburgh. The problem: Jacobs is a “Messianic Jew,” a sect that believes in the divinity of Jesus. In fact, Jacobs invoked Jesus in his opening prayer.