Washington (CNN) The rabbi of the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh said Thursday he was "surprised by a warm and personal side" to President Donald Trump during their meeting earlier this week.

"The President was very warm, very consoling. (He) put his hand on my shoulder, and the first question he asked me was, 'Rabbi, tell me, how are you doing?'" Jeffrey Myers told CNN's Alisyn Camerota on "New Day."

"And I must say, throughout the time we spent together, I was pleasantly surprised by a warm and personal side to the President that I don't think America has ever seen," he said. "I told my personal story of my experience which they found quite shocking and upsetting."

Myers, who was leading services at Tree of Life during Saturday's shooting, met with Trump, the first lady and his daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner on Tuesday when they visited the Tree of Life synagogue to pay their respects to the 11 victims.

He told Camerota that during a private meeting with the first family, he shared his message that, "Hate speech has no place in our society."

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