Trump Plans Visit To Kenosha To Meet Police And ‘Survey Damage From Riots’
The White House announced Saturday (August 29) that President Donald Trump will travel on Tuesday (September 1) to Kenosha, Wisconsin, the newest hotspot in the struggle against police excessive force on Black bodies.
A White police officer shot Jacob Blake Jr. multiple times in the back on August 23, leaving the 29-year-old Black man paralyzed from the waist down and igniting days of protests in the city.
Trump is expected to meet with law enforcement officials to “survey damage from recent riots”, White House spokesman Judd Deere said. It’s uncertain whether Trump will visit Blake’s family, according to CNN.
Asked if Trump or anyone from the White House had reached out since the shooting, Blake’s father, Jacob Blake Sr., said on Friday (August 21), "That's a negative." Asked by CNN if he wanted to hear from the President, Blake Sr. replied, "It is too late. He should have called four days ago."
He did, however, speak with Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his vice presidential running mate Sen. Kamala Harris. He described the conversation as “speaking to my uncle and one of my sisters.”
Trump, on the other hand, has used the protests in response to the shooting as a call for law and order, offering to send federal assistance to confront the demonstrators.
The violence included a 17-year-old White suspect named Kyle Rittenhouse who was arrested for opening fire on demonstrators with a semi-automatic rifle, killing two people.
On Saturday (August 29), Blake’s family led a rally in Kenosha and called for an end to police brutality and systemic racism. The senior Blake also urged protesters to demonstrate peacefully.
