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US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden spoke by phone with Jacob Blake, the black man who was shot in the back by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, sparking large protests.
Blake, who remains in the hospital paralyzed, said he was “not going to give up” whether he walked again or not, Biden said.
He was speaking at a church meeting in the city where the shooting took place.
President Donald Trump visited Kenosha on Tuesday.
The American leader surveyed areas damaged by the often violent protests that followed the shooting with messages of support for the police.
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Mr Biden departs Wilmington, Delaware, en route to Kenosha
He did not meet with Mr. Blake’s family, saying it was because they wanted lawyers present.
Wisconsin is an important state in the upcoming presidential election.
Trump narrowly won it in 2016, and for decades the state has backed the eventual winner of the presidency, whether a Republican or a Democrat.
The president has been pushing a “law and order” campaign message. However, Biden has accused Trump of stoking the racial divide.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said he “would rather no one were here, be it candidate Trump or candidate Biden.”
Biden introduces himself as chief healer
By Aleem Maqbool, BBC News, Kenosha
This was an important visit for Joe Biden. Some Black Lives Matter protesters in Kenosha had told us in recent days that they were disappointed that a high-ranking Democrat had not come sooner and that the president arrived first.
Local Democrats had already been frustrated that after the party’s national convention in neighboring Milwaukee was canceled due to the pandemic, no socially distant events were planned there as a replacement.
The backdrop is the narrow margin by which Donald Trump won this status in 2016.
Biden’s supporters came out in small groups to gather outside events he held at a church and school chanting “Come on Joe!” and “Shoot Trump!” Their appearances were low-key, grim even.
It wasn’t what he said but who he met that made headlines.
The praise from Jacob Blake’s family for the compassion he showed in speaking to them would have been exactly what his campaign team would have hoped for.
And at a community event, representatives from law enforcement agencies were in attendance alongside activists and business owners who feared looting and damage, illustrating the message of unity and healing that Joe Biden has been trying to send.
But in a revealing statement at that event, a Black Lives Matter organizer asked when all those words would turn into action.
What happened at the meeting?
Joe Biden and his wife met with Blake’s relatives at the Milwaukee airport, with Blake on the phone. The meeting was private, but Mr. Biden and the Blake family’s attorney later provided details.
Biden said he was impressed by the family’s “overwhelming sense of resilience and optimism.”
- What we know about the Jacob Blake shooting
- Two incidents, two different police responses
Mr. Blake “talked about how nothing was going to beat him, how if he walked again or not, he wouldn’t give up,” Biden said.
Confirming the meeting, the family’s attorney, Ben Crump, said it was “interesting” and that the family “was very impressed that the Bidens were so engaged and willing to really listen.”
At the community meeting in Kenosha, Biden attacked President Trump’s leadership and argued that the United States was at a “turning point” in its history.
He also joked “I’ll get shot” if I spelled out a policy in detail, a comment quickly picked up by conservative media, given Biden’s record of making mistakes.
How did it compare to Trump’s visit?
The president of the United States toured the rubble of the burned buildings and met with representatives of the police when he visited on Tuesday.
“These are not acts of peaceful protest but actually internal terror,” Trump said, then added: “We have to condemn the dangerous anti-police rhetoric.”
He expressed his sympathy for those injured in clashes with police, saying he felt “very bad for anyone who goes through that.” But he said he did not believe there was systemic racism in law enforcement.
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Trump’s campaign manager Bill Stepien told Fox News that Biden’s visit was inappropriate.
“The president was there earlier in the week as president of the United States. Vice President Biden is here today as a candidate, as a political candidate,” he said.
Anthony Davis, president of the local chapter of the civil rights group NAACP, told NBC that he opposed the visit of both men.
“I said Kenosha would welcome you any other time,” he said. “But things here are fragile. And we in this community really need to put our energy into healing ourselves, sitting down and talking in detail only in the way that locals can.”
What is the background?
Jacob Blake was shot seven times in the back by a police officer during an arrest when the 29-year-old tried to get into a car where his three children were sitting.
Biden has called for the officer who shot him in the back to be arrested. “He believes that based on everything he has seen, the charges appear justified, but that there must be a full investigation to ensure all the facts are known first,” his campaign said before the trip.
In an interview Wednesday, Attorney General Bill Barr said the situation was different from George Floyd, whose death in March sparked worldwide protests.
“Floyd was already subdued, handcuffed incapacitated and not armed,” Barr said. “In Jacob’s case, he was committing a serious crime and he was armed.”
Mr. Blake was not armed when he was shot, but investigators found a knife in his car later.
Two people protesting the Mr. Blake shooting were killed in Kenosha amid widespread looting and vandalism. A 17-year-old has been charged in the deaths.
