THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

Having spewed violent and vicious lies to his followers and made it clear that he is all for them acting on their worst impulses, Donald Trump insists on inserting himself into the grief off the families of those murdered by one of his followers.

As the first funerals for victims of the Pittsburgh synagogue attack began on Tuesday morning, President Trump prepared to visit the grief-stricken city to pay respects. Even before he landed though, some local officials implored him to stay away while the community began burying its dead.

In the aftermath of one of the deadliest anti-Semitic attacks in American history, the president will make a brief trip Tuesday afternoon with the first lady, Melania Trump, as well as his daughter Ivanka Trump, who is Jewish, and her husband, Jared Kushner, the grandson of Holocaust survivors.

The top four Republican and Democratic congressional leaders who were invited to join him all declined, according to officials familiar with the planning who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment.

Mr. Trump’s stop is an opportunity for him to play the traditional role of consoler in chief that presidents often step into after a national tragedy. But in the wake of the shooting and a recent spate of mailed explosive devices, Mr. Trump has been reluctant to blunt his bitter political attacks, arguing that his supporters crave his incendiary rhetoric.

The president’s planned visit drew criticism — and prompted disagreement within Pittsburgh’s Jewish community. Protests were planned for Tuesday afternoon.

Two Jewish groups had called on Mr. Trump to back down from inflammatory rhetoric that they said seemed to be encouraging the most radical fringes of American society. In addition, some members of the congregations that were attacked have said they did not want Mr. Trump to come.

One protest was scheduled to take place from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the corner of Beechwood Boulevard and Forbes Avenue, and had about 1,000 people saying they would attend, according to a Facebook page for the event. Another protest was planned for 3 p.m. at the corner of Darlington Road and Murray Avenue.

The mayor of Pittsburgh, Bill Peduto, in comments to reporters before the announcement of the visit, said the White House should first ask victims’ families if they wanted a presidential visit.

“Our attention and our focus is going to be on them,” the mayor said of the funeral services. He added, “We do not have enough public safety officials to provide enough protection at the funerals and to be able at the same time draw attention to a potential presidential visit.

“If the president is looking to come to Pittsburgh, I would ask that he not do so while we are burying the dead.”

Some have said they would welcome Trump but they think they will get anything more than adoration of himself from the Great Con Don they are fooling themselves as much as any of his supporters.