Trump's visit to Pittsburgh to honour synagogue gun attack victims met with protest
Video report ITV News Washington Correspondent Robert Moore
Hundreds of Pittsburgh residents are protesting President Donald Trump's visit to the neighbourhood where 11 people were gunned down during an attack on a local synagogue.
Mr Trump arrived to pay tribute to victims touched by the worst instance of anti-Semitic violence in American history.
Residents gathered on Squirrel Hill, the Pittsburgh neighbourhood that is home to the Tree of Life synagogue where the victims were worshipping, to tell the president "he's not welcome in their city".
One banner read: "We do bridges not walls".
When Air Force One touched down at the airport outside Pittsburgh, President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were not greeted by the usual phalanx of local officials that typically welcomes a visiting president, a reflection of controversy surrounding the visit.
The White House said President Trump was coming to “express the support of the American people and to grieve with the Pittsburgh community”.
But local and religious leaders were divided on whether he should be there.
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, a Democrat, told reporters before the visit was announced that the White House ought to consult with the families of the victims about their preferences and asked that the president not come during a funeral.
Neither he nor Democratic Gov Tom Wolf planned to appear with President Trump.
His itinerary remained under wraps even as he stepped off the plane, trailed by his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who are Jewish, and members of the first lady’s staff carrying white flowers.
The White House invited the top four congressional leaders to join President Trump in Pittsburgh, but none accompanied him.
President Trump travelled to the historic hub of the city’s Jewish community as the first funerals were scheduled to be held for the victims, who range in age from 54 to 97.
He is expected to meet with first responders and community leaders.
The death toll includes a set of brothers, a husband and wife, professors, dentists and a physician. It was not immediately clear whether President Trump would meet with any family members.