President Trump took aim at the media for reporting on his visit to a grieving Pittsburgh following Saturday’s shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue that left 11 people dead.
Trump said that after he and first lady Melania Trump returned to Washington, D.C., following their trip to Pittsburgh on Tuesday, where the city is mourning the loss of 11 people who were shot and killed when Robert Bowers allegedly opened fire on people worshiping at the Tree of Life synagogue, he was disappointed to see the media focus on a group of demonstrators protesting his visit.
“After this day of unity and togetherness, I came home and sadly turned on the news and watched as the far-left media once again used tragedy to sow anger and division,” Trump told a crowd of supporters during a rally in Fort Myers, Fla.
The president said the press “did everything in their power” to highlight the protests and “push people apart.”
“When we talk about division, this is a big part of the division, right there,” Trump said. “The far-left media has spread terrible lies about the Trump administration and the tens of millions of people who make up our great movement, the greatest political movement in the history of our country.”
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The president went on to accuse the media of ignoring his administration as it has “forcefully condemned hatred, bigotry, racism, and prejudice in all of its ugly forms.”
“The left-wing media doesn't want to solve problems. They want to stoke resentment,” he said. “It has to stop. They believe that progress isn't good for profit, or for whatever reason it is they are playing their game.”
Bowers was indicted by a federal grand jury on 44 counts Wednesday.
The president’s swipes at the media comes after a Florida man, Cesar Sayoc, was arrested last week in connection with suspicious packages that were sent to prominent Democrats and former intelligence officials.
One of the packages was sent to former CIA Director John Brennan at CNN’s offices in New York City. The package’s discovery prompted the evacuation of the building.
A second package addressed to former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and sent to CNN was intercepted at a postal facility in New York City.