Things change.
The White House announced Sunday night that President Obama is calling for a moment of silence for the victims in a weekend shooting in Tuscon. The release also included this note at the bottom:
Also, the planned trip by the President to Schenectady, New York, on Tuesday, January 11, to the General Electric energy division is postponed. The trip is expected to be rescheduled.
According to the Times Union, the mayor of Schenectady is taking it in stride:
Schenectady Mayor Brian U. Stratton said the White House contacted him around 2 p.m. Sunday to tell him about the postponement. There was no indication Sunday how soon the Obama administration would be able to visit. "The President's thoughts and actions are where they should be right now," Stratton said. However, "we're encouraged it's a postponement."
Congressman Paul Tonko shared similar sentiments with WTEN:
"I can understand the decision," says Congressman Paul Tonko. "We're all numbed by the events of the past few days." Tonko says it was flattering for President Obama to have had plans for a trip to General Electric in Schenectady, but right now, the timing just isn't right.
GE gave a statement to the Times Union that makes it clear there are no hard feelings:
"We look forward to a future opportunity to showcase our manufacturing facility and to demonstrate how our investments in clean energy technologies have helped drive job creation in the Capital Region," a statement from GE said Sunday.
We'll keep you updated.
