Trump defends playing 'Happy' after synagogue shooting: 'Rallies are meant to be fun'

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)

President Trump on Monday said there was no reason for him to cancel or postpone his Saturday night rally in Indiana, which took place hours after the deadly mass shooting at Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.

Speaking to Fox News host Laura Ingraham, Trump first defended playing the Pharrell Williams song "Happy," saying, "Rallies are meant to be fun." He doesn't believe in calling off events when tragedies occur, and stood by his decision to go to Indiana. "Frankly, I think that's the way it should be," he said. "You can't let these people disrupt more than they already have. They are disgraceful."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.