Fears As Donald Trump Visits Kenosha After US Police Shooting Of Jacob Blake

US President Donald Trump stood at the epicenter of the latest eruption of racial injustice on Wednesday (New Zealand time) and took full advantage of law enforcement, blaming “domestic terror.” for the violence in Kenosha and without making any assent to the underlying cause of anger and protests: the shooting of another black man by the police.

Trump declared the violence “anti-American.” He did not mention Jacob Blake, who was seriously injured last week in Kenosha.

Shortly after arriving in the city, on a visit made over objections by state and local leaders, Trump toured the charred remains of a bloc besieged by violence and fire.

With the smell of smoke still in the air, he spoke to the owners of a century-old store that had been destroyed and continued to link the violence with the Democrats, blaming those responsible for Kenosha and Wisconsin while issuing apocalyptic warnings if his party. It should capture the White House.

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“These are not acts of peaceful protest but actually internal terror,” Trump said. And he condemned Democrats for not immediately accepting his offer of federal assistance, claiming “They just don’t want us to go, these governors don’t want to call, and mayors don’t want to call. They have to ask. “

The city has been the scene of protests since the Aug. 23 shooting of Blake, who was hit seven times in the back by police as he got into a car while trying to arrest him. The protests have been concentrated in a small area of ​​Kenosha. While there were more than 30 fires in the first three nights, the situation has since calmed down.

Trump’s caravan passed crowds of protesters, some holding American flags in support of the president, others booing while carrying signs reading Black Lives Matter.

A massive police presence, with several armored vehicles, secured the area and barricades were set up along several of the city’s main thoroughfares to keep bystanders away from passing presidential vehicles.

Offering federal resources to help rebuild the city, Trump toured a high school that had been transformed into a law enforcement command post. He said he tried to call Blake’s mother but chose not to after the family asked an attorney to listen.

He later added that he felt “terribly” for anyone who suffered a loss, but otherwise only noted that the situation was “complicated” and “under investigation.” The only words in recognition of the suffering of African Americans came from a pastor who assisted the police. round table.

Pressured by reporters, Trump repeatedly shied away from evaluating any kind of structural racism in the nation or its police departments, instead criticizing what he saw as anti-police rhetoric.

By painting a dark portrait of parts of the nation he leads, the president re-linked the radical forces he blamed for the violence with the Democrats and his presidential candidate, Joe Biden, declaring that chaos could soon descend on other cities in U.S.

Trump also condemned the riots in Portland, Oregon, as well as the increase in shootings in cities like Chicago and New York, and tried to take credit for stopping the violence in Kenosha with the National Guard. But it was the Democratic Governor of Wisconsin, Tony Evers, who deployed the Guard to quell the demonstrations in response to the Blake shooting, and had pleaded with Trump to stay away for fear of further straining tensions.

“I am concerned that their presence only hinders our healing,” Evers wrote in a letter to Trump. “I am concerned that his presence will only delay our work to overcome the divide and move forward together.”

Biden has attacked Trump as an instigator of the deadly protests that have erupted during his tenure.

On the eve of his visit, Trump defended a teenager accused of fatally shooting two men at a demonstration in Kenosha last week, although he did not mention the young man on Wednesday (New Zealand time).

Claiming the Republican candidate’s mantle of “law and order,” Trump insists that he, not Biden, is the leader best positioned to keep Americans safe.

He said his appearance in Kenosha would “increase the excitement” in Wisconsin, perhaps the most contested battlefield status in the presidential race.

Blake’s family held a remote “community celebration” of Trump’s visit.

“We don’t need more pain and division from a president determined to move his campaign forward 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 none of the candidates should visit the city of Wisconsin while the tension boils. 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 on Monday of causing the divisions that have ignited the violence. He delivered an unusually searing speech in Pittsburgh and distanced himself from the radical forces involved in the altercations.

Biden said of Trump: “He doesn’t want to shed light, he wants to generate heat, and he’s fueling violence in our cities. It cannot stop the violence because it has been fomenting it for years ”.

Trump and his campaign team have gripped the riots in Kenosha, as well as Portland, where a Trump supporter was shot and killed, leaning strongly in defense of law and order and suggesting that Biden is in debt to extremists.

Trump’s advisers believe the tough stance on crime will help him with voters and that the more the national discourse is about anything other than coronavirus, the better it is for the president.

The protests in Kenosha began the night of the Blake shooting, Aug. 23, and were concentrated in the blocks around the center of the county courthouse. An estimated $ 2 million worth of city property damage occurred, and the mayor of Kenosha has said he is seeking $ 30 million from the state to help rebuild.

The violence reached its peak on the night of August 25, two days after Blake was shot, when police said the 17-year-old armed with an illegal semi-automatic rifle shot and killed two protesters in the streets. Since then, marches organized by both police supporters and Blake’s family have been peaceful, with no vandalism or destruction of public property.

In Pittsburgh on Tuesday (New Zealand time), Biden roundly condemned the violent protesters and called for their prosecution, addressing a key criticism of Trump. And the former vice president also tried to refocus the race on what has been his defining theme: Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which has left more than 180,000 Americans dead, after a multi-day onslaught by the president’s team. to campaign on violence shaking American cities.

Biden’s wife, Jill, began a multi-week tour of 10 pandemic-disrupted schools in eight battlefield states Tuesday, drawing a direct line from empty classrooms to administration failures in the fight. against Covid-19.

During his tour of a Wilmington, Delaware school, he spoke with teachers and administrators about doubts that in-person learning will really resume anytime soon and the challenges, including obtaining new small desks and protective gear to make sure classrooms can handle social distancing. — if they do it. He said feelings about going back to school “have gone from excitement to anxiety, and the playgrounds are quiet.”

Associated Press writers Will Weissert in Wilmington, Delaware, Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, and Alexandra Jaffe in Washington contributed to this report.