White House in damage control after Biden falsely claimed he visited synagogue

President Joe Biden has been criticised after he falsely told Jewish leaders this week he spent time at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh after the devastating 2018 terrorist attack. On October 27, 2018 a white supremacist entered the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh and opened fire, killing 11 people and wounding six in the worst anti-Jewish hate crime in America’s history. During a 16-minute-call with local leaders ahead of the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur this week, President Biden said he visited the synagogue in the aftermath of the attack. However, the synagogue’s executive director, Barb Feige, told the New York Post on Thursday that President Biden did not visit. The White House released a statement claiming President Biden “was referring to a call he had with the Tree of Life rabbi in 2019.” Then-President Donald Trump visited the Tree of Life three days after the attack in a move widely praised by the community.