Kamala Harris Meets With Jacob Blake's Family And Lawyers In First Solo Trip As VP Candidate
Kamala Harris' first solo campaign trip since accepting the Democratic nomination for vice president was to Wisconsin, and the first thing she did after touching down was to pay a visit to Jacob Blake's family, CBS News reports.
Blake, the 29-year-old father of three who was shot seven times by police officer Rusten Sheskey, remains hospitalized and is paralyzed from the waist down, according to his father. His shooting reignited protests across the country. Harris spent time with Blake's family as well as his legal team, and even spoke on the phone with Blake himself, according to family attorney Benjamin Crump.
"In a moving moment, Jacob Jr. told Sen. Harris that he was proud of her, and the senator told Jacob she was also proud of him and how he is working through his pain," Crump said. He added that Harris had spoken with each family member about how "they were handling the trauma and urged them to take care of their physical and mental health."
The California senator shared her thoughts with reporters during a tour of an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers training facility in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin later that day. "I mean, they're an incredible family. And what they've endured, and they just do it with such dignity and grace. And you know, they're carrying the weight of a lot of voices on their shoulders," she said.
Harris' running mate, presidential candidate Joe Biden, also met with Blake's family during a visit to Kenosha last week. President Trump, who also visited Kenosha, did not reach out to Blake's family and instead focused his attention on pushing a vague "law and order" message to protestors.