(Headline USA) President Donald Trump visited the destruction left by leftist rioters in Kenosha, Wisc., on Tuesday and declared it was enabled by Democratic leaders.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 1, 2020
Soon after arriving in the city — a visit made over the objections of state and local leaders — Trump toured the charred remains of a block besieged by violence and fire. He spoke to the owners of a century-old furniture store that had been destroyed and blasted the Democrats in charge of Kenosha and Wisconsin.
“They just don’t want us to come in and then destruction is done,” said Trump, who has offered to send in federal enforcement. “These governors don’t want to call and the mayors don’t want to call. They have to ask.”
The city has been riven by protests since the Aug. 23 shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man who resisted arrest while allegedly wielding a knife, who was shot seven times from behind by police as he reached inside his vehicle. On the eve of his visit, Trump defended a teenage supporter accused of fatally shooting two men — likely in self defense — at a demonstration in Kenosha last week, and accused Democrat Joe Biden of siding with anarchists and rioters in the unrest.
Trump’s motorcade passed a mix of supporters, many holding American flags, and protesters, some carrying signs that read Black Lives Matter. As a massive police presence, complete with several armored vehicles, secured the area, barricades were set up along several of the city’s major thoroughfares to keep onlookers some distance from the passing presidential vehicles.
Wisconsin’s Democratic governor, Tony Evers — who belatedly deployed the National Guard to quell riots following the Blake shooting, in numbers fewer than local officials requested — had pleaded with Trump to stay away for fear of straining tensions further.
“I am concerned your presence will only hinder our healing,” Evers wrote in a letter to Trump. “I am concerned your presence will only delay our work to overcome division and move forward together.”
Biden has assailed Trump over the deadly protests that have sprung up — all of which have occurred in Democrat-run cities. But Trump has supported law enforcement and offered himself as the leader best positioned to keep Americans safe.
He insisted his appearance in Kenosha would “increase enthusiasm” in Wisconsin, perhaps the most hotly contested battleground state in the presidential race, as the White House said he “wants to visit hurting Americans.” The White House said Trump was not going to meet with Blake’s family. Blake’s family planned a Tuesday “community celebration” to correspond with Trump’s visit.
“We don’t need more pain and division from a president set on advancing his campaign at the expense of our city,” Justin Blake, an uncle, said in a statement. “We need justice and relief for our vibrant community.”
The NAACP said Tuesday neither candidate should visit the Wisconsin city as tension simmers. Biden’s team has considered a visit to Kenosha and has indicated that a trip to Wisconsin was imminent but has not offered details.
Biden, in his most direct attacks yet, accused Trump earlier Monday in Pittsburgh of causing the divisions that have ignited the violence.
Biden said of Trump: “He doesn’t want to shed light, he wants to generate heat, and he’s stoking violence in our cities. He can’t stop the violence because for years he’s fomented it.”
Trump, for his part, blamed radical troublemakers stirred up and backed by Biden. But when he was asked about one of his own supporters who was charged with killing two men during the mayhem in Kenosha, Trump declined to denounce the killings and suggested that the 17-year-old suspect, Kyle Rittenhouse, acted in self-defense.
After a confrontation in which he fatally shot one man, police say, Rittenhouse fell while being chased by people trying to disarm him. A second person was shot and killed.
“That was an interesting situation,” Trump said Monday during a news conference. “He was trying to get away from them, I guess, it looks like, and he fell. And then they very violently attacked him. … He was in very big trouble. He would have been — he probably would’ve been killed.”
After Trump’s defense of Rittenhouse, Biden laced into his response, saying without evidence: “Tonight, the president declined to rebuke violence. He wouldn’t even repudiate one of his supporters who is charged with murder because of his attacks on others. He is too weak, too scared of the hatred he has stirred to put an end to it.”
The president also suggested that some police officers “choke” when faced with challenging situations and offered an odd comparison, likening them to golfers who “miss a 3-foot putt.”
Protests in Kenosha began the night of Blake’s shooting, Aug. 23 and were concentrated in the blocks around the county courthouse downtown. The first three nights, more than 30 fires were set and numerous businesses were vandalized. There was an estimated $2 million in damage to city property, and Kenosha’s mayor has said he is seeking $30 million from the state to help rebuild.
Adapted from reporting by Associated Press.
