Pence: Pray that our nation will ‘rise above the hate’

Vice President Pence on Wednesday urged Americans to pray for an end to division and hatred while at an Ohio rally.

“As President Trump and I have made clear, what happened was not just criminal, it was evil and we will never allow violence or anti-Semitism to take hold in the United States,” Pence said as the crowd cheered, referencing the shooting at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue on Saturday that left 11 dead. 

{mosads}”I promise you, the president and I and our entire administration will do everything in our power to bring these senseless acts of violence to an end,” Pence said. 

“For now, we urge every American, pray for the victims and their families and the entire Jewish community all across Pittsburgh, that they would know that we are with them,” the vice president told the crowd.

“And also pray as the president said this Saturday, that our nation would, in his words, rise above the hate, move past division and embrace our common destiny as Americans,” he added.

The vice president and many others on both sides of the aisle have strongly condemned Saturday’s anti-Semitic attack and have urged Americans to come together in unity. 

The administration has promised that justice will be done and federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for suspect in the shooting.

President Trump on Saturday said anyone “who does a thing like this to innocent people … they should really pay the ultimate price.”

“Through the centuries, the Jews have endured terrible persecution … And those seeking their destruction, we will seek their destruction,” he said later that day, reiterating his call for the gunman’s execution.