President Obama plans to focus his Friday eulogy of the slain pastor of an historic black church in Charleston, S.C., on the pastor and the other victims of the attack, and not broader issues the tragedy raised like gun control or the state of race relations in America.
“The focal point of the president’s remarks will be to pay tribute to Rev. [Clementa] Pinckney and others whose lives were lost in that terrible attack,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Friday. “Remembering those individuals and celebrating their lives will be the focus of the president’s remarks.”
Earnest, however, said the process of writing the eulogy is still in its early stages, and did not rule out that Obama might raise a “variety of issues” in the eulogy.
“There’s obviously been a robust public debate on a variety of issues that have emerged in the aftermath,” he said. “But I do feel confident in telling you now that the focus of the remarks will be on celebrating the life of Rev. Pinckney and others.”
Pinckney served as the pastor of the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston and also served as a state senator. He was one of nine black parishioners shot and killed during a prayer meeting last week by white 21-year-old Dylann Roof, who posted a lengthy racist manifesto online and confessed to the murders, saying he wanted to start a race war.
Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and first lady Michelle Obama all plan to attend the service Friday. During the 2008 presidential campaign, the president and the first lady got to know Pinckney, an early Obama supporter.
