President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump will visit Pennsylvania on Tuesday to mourn a synagogue massacre that left 11 people dead.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday that Trump will go "to express the support of the American people and to grieve with the Pittsburgh community."
There have been mixed responses to Trump's plan to visit.
Leaders of a liberal Jewish group in Pittsburgh penned an open letter to the president, saying he was not welcome until he denounced white nationalism.
Mayor Bill Peduto told reporters Monday that the city does not have enough public safety resources to provide adequate protection at the funerals and for a presedential visit at the same time, adding, "I would ask that he not [visit] while we are burying the dead."
In talking to reporters earlier today, Mayor Bill Peduto said he hoped POTUS would not visit "while we are burying the dead. Our attention and our focus is going to be on them, and we don’t have public safety that we can take away from what is needed in order to do both." pic.twitter.com/nLWCz91MWD
— Chris Potter (@CPotterPgh) October 29, 2018
Rabbi Jeffrey Myers with the Tree of Life synagogue made clear the president would be welcome, telling NBC that "it would be my honor to always meet a president of the United States."
