Donald Trump made a rare appearance Sunday at a church that has traditionally served as a house of worship for sitting presidents and sat through a sermon on they type of 'hateful rhetoric' that inspired the New Zealand mosque attacks.
Trump attended a service at St. John's for the first time since his inauguration. First lady Melania Trump accompanied him to the 11 am service at the Greek Revival Episcopal church that's separated from the White House by a park.
Rev. W. Bruce McPherson identified the Friday attack on worshipers in New Zealand as 'one more gratuitous attack on innocent people at worship' in a 15-minute sermon, CNN reported.
'What can we do? Well perhaps we're called whenever we overhear or oversee hateful slurs against other people, perhaps we need the holy courage to call them out, because that's just not us,' he said.
Donald Trump made a rare appearance Sunday at a church that has traditionally served as a house of worship for sitting presidents and sat through a sermon on they type of 'hateful rhetoric' that inspired the New Zealand mosque attacks
US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump leave St. Johns Episcopal church
McPherson welcomed Trump to the church in plain view on St. Patrick's Day on Sunday. The president put his hand on the small of the minister's back as he followed him in.
On the way out of the church, McPherson again walked the Trumps to their motorcade, which the couple opted to take to and from the White House.
The Trumps have attended church on several occasions since their move to Washington, usually in Florida, on Christian holidays.
McPherson preached on Sunday against hateful language as a 'sin against the Gospel' with the president and his wife sitting in the center aisle that's traditionally reserved for the president.
He said 'it's not easy to confront someone' and so he is often 'the first one to just let it pass.'
'Maybe we shouldn't be so ready to do that,' he said. 'We don't want to stop, to put an end to hateful rhetoric, because it's a nice thing to do or because it offends our sensibilities or because it's not in accordance with the First Amendment.
Perhaps he said, per CNN, 'We need to stop that stuff because it's a sin against the Gospel. It takes courage I know. But it's up to us. Courage is contagious. And acting courageously especially in light of some kind of speech like that catches on and spreads."
Trump claimed Monday, as he came under pressure to denounce white nationalism, that the media was unfairly connecting him to a mass murder who targeted two mosques in New Zealand.
The accused gunman, Brenton Harrison Tarrant, mentioned Trump in a 70-page manifesto, putting new pressure on the U.S. president to address charges that he has enabled or inspired violence with his fiery rhetoric.
'The Fake News Media is working overtime to blame me for the horrible attack in New Zealand. They will have to work very hard to prove that one. So Ridiculous!' he said in his first comments since Friday on the attack.
Donald Trump claimed Monday, as he came under pressure to denounce white nationalism, that the media was unfairly connecting him to a mass murder who targeted two mosques in New Zealand
The U.S. president had previously said that he does not believe white nationalism is a growing global threat
The U.S. president had previously said that he does not believe white nationalism is a growing global threat.
His assertion Friday that the terrorist attack was the work of 'a small group' of people with 'very serious problems' came under scrutiny on Sunday from a number of Democrats, including Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, one of three Muslims in Congress.
'We need to be speaking up against this, and it has to start with him reiterating the importance of real information and data that says it's on the rise,' she said on CNN's 'State of the Union' program. 'You can't just say it isn't, when the facts say the complete opposite. He needs to do better by us and the country. He needs to speak up and condemn this very loud and very clearly.'
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a presidential candidate gunning for Trump's job, said on the same show that Trump is 'dividing' people, although she wouldn't go so far as to say he shares responsibility for the shooting.
'I don't think you can actually take each of the murderous acts and say what role Donald Trump played, but I can tell you this. His rhetoric doesn't help. And many of these people, whether it was the person who tried to bomb Barack Obama or this murderer in New Zealand, have cited Donald Trump along the way,' she said.
Trump should as a result 'be giving strong statements, public speeches defending Muslims in this world' who are under attack based on their religion.
'And one of our jobs, as a leader, is to stand up, whether people are Jewish, whether they're Muslim, no matter how they worship, no matter what they look like. We have to remember that they are all part of a country of shared dreams. And that's the United States of America,' she said.
Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney argued on Trump's behalf on 'Fox News Sunday' that it is 'absurd' to link Trump to the gunman.
'The president is not a white supremacist. I'm not sure how many times we have to say that,' he said on Fox News.
He said it's not fair to tie any of the incidents at home or abroad to the president.
'And to simply ask the question, every time something like this happens overseas, or even domestically, to say, oh, my goodness, it must somehow be the president's fault speaks to a politicization of everything that I think is undermining sort of the institutions that we have in the country today,' he added.
Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney snapped back at any attempt to link President Donald Trump to the accused shooter
This image was taken from the alleged shooter's video
Mulvaney said it was no more fair to call the alleged shooter a Trump supporter than to call an eco-terrorist a support of Speaker Nancy Pelosi or Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
'I don't think it's fair to cast this person as a supporter of Donald Trump any more than it is to look at his - sort of his eco-terrorist passages in that manifesto that align him with Nancy Pelosi or Ms. Ocasio-Cortez,' he said.
'This was a disturbed individual, an evil person, and to try and tie him to an American politician from either party probably ignores some of the deeper, difficulties that this sort of activity exposes,' Mulvaney said.
The alleged shooter had called himself a Trump supporter, terming the president a symbol of 'white identity' while venting about an immigrant 'invasion' that he claimed was replacing white people.
Trump has himself talked about an 'invasion' of illegal immigration repeatedly.
And while he has condemned the horrific shooting in New Zealand, the president has not distanced himself from white nationalism by denouncing the movement. He claimed last year that he didn't know that the term nationalism has racial connotations and encouraged his supporters to use and embrace it.
The White House issued a bristling response to journalists on Friday morning when the first questions were raised about the sick manifesto mentioning Trump that was released by the New Zealand attacker before he began his rampage.
'It's outrageous to even make that connection between this deranged individual that committed this evil crime to the president, who had repeatedly condemned bigotry, racism, and has made it very clear that this is a terrorist attack,' fumed White House director of strategic communications Mercedes Schlapp.
'We are there to support and stand with the people of New Zealand,' Schlapp told reporters at the White House as officials continued to monitor developments from the horrific attack.
Trump had tweeted out his sympathy Friday morning for those who died 'senselessly' during the massacre at two mosques in New Zealand.
President Trump has tweeted out his sympathy for those who died 'senselessly' during the massacre at two mosques in New Zealand
However, the president made no mention of the dark sentiments that had already been unearthed about the shooter, nor did he put forth any generalized statement that acknowledged the faith of the Muslim followers who were slaughtered.
The alleged perpetrators writings state his desire to cause a 'civil war' in the U.S.
'My warmest sympathy and best wishes goes out to the people of New Zealand after the horrible massacre in the Mosques,' Trump wrote.
Trump continued: '49 innocent people have so senselessly died, with so many more seriously injured. The U.S. stands by New Zealand for anything we can do.'
God bless all!' he added, ending his missive with an exclamation point and a nod to religion, after the latest terror attack to rip through a house of worship.
White House director of strategic communications Mercedes Schlapp
The manifesto calls Trump a 'symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose.'
It didn't take long for critics of the president call out his rhetoric in the wake of the attack.
'Of course our prayers go out to the people of New Zealand, particularly the loved ones and survivors and victims,' Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut told CNN.
Blumenthal added: 'But words do have consequences, and we know that at the very pinnacle of power in our own country, people are talking about 'good people on both sides,'' he added, in reference to Trump's widely criticized response to the events in Charlottesville, Virginia.
New Zealand's shaken prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, made a point of including statements inclusive of refugees in her own statement during what she called a dark time for her country.
'They have chosen to make New Zealand their home, and it is their home. They are us,' she said. The person who has perpetuated this violence against us is not. They have no place in New Zealand.'
Trump referenced early reports that at least 49 were killed in the attack
Trump spoke to Adern Friday afternoon, Washington time, tweeting about it afterward in a pair of messages.
'Just spoke with Jacinda Ardern, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, regarding the horrific events that have taken place over the past 24 hours. I informed the Prime Minister...that we stand in solidarity with New Zealand – and that any assistance the U.S.A. can give, we stand by ready to help. We love you New Zealand!
Pelosi, who attended a St. Patrick's Day luncheon with Trump on Thursday, tweeted: 'We mourn the loss of 49 lives cut short in the horrific act of violence in Christchurch, New Zealand. Islamophobia and such acts of pure hatred have no place in a civilized world.'
Trump has made it a policy to quickly sent out sentiments on Twitter following terror attacks that have jolted nations around the world.
His National Security Advisor John Bolton told reporters at the White House on Friday morning, 'We're obviously greatly disturbed by this what seems to be a terror attack – this hate crime in New Zealand.'
Trump spoke to New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Friday
He said the State Department was following up on the incident. 'We're very concerned. We're going to cooperate with the New Zealand authorities to the extent we can,' Bolton continued. 'If there's any role that we can play. We are obviously following the events there very closely. That's really all I can say on that at the moment.'
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders also issued a statement Friday expressing solidarity following the massacre.
'The United States strongly condemns the attack in Christchurch. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. We stand in solidarity with the people of New Zealand and their government against this vicious act of hate,' she said.
Trump's tweet responding to the massacre in Christchurch steered clear of any policy pronouncements on security, guns, immigration, and religious extremists – or domestic politics.
That hasn't always been the case. Following a stabbing attack on London Bridge in 2017, Trump responded by tweeting: 'We need to be smart, vigilant and tough. We need the courts to give us back our rights. We need the Travel Ban as an extra level of safety!'
The gunman, who identified himself as Brenton Tarrant from Grafton, NSW, Australia, stormed the Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch on the country's South Island about 1.30pm, opening fire with a semi-automatic shotgun and a rifle on about 100 defenseless worshippers attending Friday prayers.
A sickening 17-minute video of the unfolding horror shows the self-confessed white supremacist dressed in army fatigues firing mercilessly at people scrambling to flee, and calmly reloading when he runs out of bullets.
At about the same time, there was a second shooting at Masjid mosque in Linwood, where seven more were killed.
In the aftermath of the bloody attacks, three men and one woman were arrested, with police charging 'one man in his late 20s' with murder. He is expected to face court on Saturday.
Two of the others remain in police custody, with a fourth person arrested deemed not to have been involved in the attacks.
Of the 49 fatalities, 41 were killed at the Al Noor Mosque and seven at the Linwood Avenue mosque. Three were outside the mosque itself. A 49th died in hospital.
A further 48 people were rushed to Christchurch Hospital with gunshot wounds, 20 in a critical condition. A dozen operating theatres were opened, with many victims requiring multiple life-saving surgeries.
New Zealand Police have evacuated homes in Dunedin as they investigate a home 'of interest' to the shootings. The address is believed to be the home the gunman's car is registered to.
In New Zealand's worst ever terror attack and one of the worst mass-shootings ever:
Tarrant (pictured as a child in his late father's arms) live-streamed the shooting spree to his social media account
Police arrested and charged one man aged 'in his late 20s' with murder. He is expected to face court Saturday. Pictured is Tarrant during a holiday in Pakistan
Witnesses reported hearing 50 shots and police are responding to the incident at Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch on the country's South Island. Pictured is a still from a live-stream of the shooting
A man wearing military fatigues (pictured) was arrested outside Papanui High School
At least one gunman has opened fire at a mosque in New Zealand , shooting at children and killing dozens of people
Witnesses reported hearing 50 shots and police are responding to the incident at Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch on the country's South Island
At least 40 people were reported dead as a result of the twin massacres on Friday, with the total rising to 49 within an hour
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2019/03/19/sermon-called-out-hateful-rhetoric-on-sunday-when-when-trumps-went-to-church/
Main photo article Donald Trump made a rare appearance Sunday at a church that has traditionally served as a house of worship for sitting presidents and sat through a sermon on they type of ‘hateful rhetoric’ that inspired the New Zealand mosque attacks.
Trump attended a service at St. John’s for...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/03/18/20/11154210-6823785-image-a-8_1552942327177.jpg
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