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Supporters of American candidate Biden
© AFP (Archive)
After US President Donald Trump turned violence at the edge of protests into an electoral issue, the Democrats surrounding Joe Biden are trying to win back the initiative. Biden called on Trump to condemn the violence from any political direction. “We must not become a country that is at war with itself,” said Trump’s challenger.
There have been serious riots recently in Portland and Kenosha. Biden said: “The shooting in the streets of a large American city is unacceptable. I condemn this violence unequivocally.” He rejects any kind of violence, whether from the left or the right, “and I urge Donald Trump to do the same.”
On Monday afternoon (local time), Biden wants to raise the question of whether Americans feel safe in Trump’s America at a performance in Pittsburgh. Trump and the Republicans have been claiming for days that no one will be safe in Biden’s America. Pittsburgh is located in Pennsylvania, one of the US states that can decide the outcome of the November 3 election.
So far, Trump has primarily warned against the “far left” having a free hand in Democratic-run cities. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, who was recently attacked by the President, launched a counterattack. “It is you who created the hatred and the division,” he told a news conference in Trump’s speech. “What the United States needs is to be arrested.” Trump responded within minutes, calling Wheeler “crazy” and “dumb” in a series of tweets. “Force is the only way to stop violence in Democratic-run cities with high crime rates.”
There have been protests against racism and police violence every day in Portland for months. On Saturday, a car parade of Trump supporters drove through the city, there were clashes. A man was shot and killed in the city center on Sunday night. Police Chief Chuck Lovell cautioned against jumping to conclusions about the facts of the matter. Earlier, media reports said the man who was shot was wearing a baseball cap belonging to the right-wing group “Patriot Prayer.”
In addition to Portland, the city of Kenosha in the US state of Wisconsin has also become the center of protests in recent days after a police officer shot a black man seven times in the back. Trump announced over the weekend that he would travel to Kenosha on Tuesday. But there is resistance to this. Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers asked Trump to cancel the visit. “I am concerned that their presence only hinders our healing,” Evers wrote in a letter. He also feared that a visit would require that resources be diverted from Trump that would be necessary to ensure the safety of the population.
In Kenosha, protests broke out after the police raid against the African-American Jacob Blake, 29, during which two nights in a row there was violence with buildings and cars on fire. On the third night, a 17-year-old who tried to patrol the streets as an armed civilian shot dead two people and wounded another. The shots were videotaped by eyewitnesses. The 17-year-old has been accused of two murders, his lawyer speaks of legitimate defense.
In recent days, Trump had emphasized that order must be quickly restored in the city. Regarding its travel plans, the White House said it wanted to meet with security authorities and get an idea of the damage after the violent protests. A lawyer for Blake, who was seriously injured, told CBS that his family had not yet received an interview with Trump.
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