Trump calls Kenosha violence ‘anti-American’
President visits city over the objections of state and local leaders.
President Donald KENOSHA,WIS.— Trump stood at the epicenter of the latest eruption over racial injustice Tuesday and came down squarely on the side of law enforcement, blaming “domestic terror” for theviolence inKenosha and making no nod to the underlying cause of anger and protests
the shooting of another Black — man by police.
Trump declared the violence “anti-American.” Hedidnotmention Jacob Blake, who was badly wounded last week in Kenosha.
Soon after arriving in the city, a visit made over the objections of state and local leaders, Trump toured the charred remains of a block besieged by violence and fifire. With the scent 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 to the Democrats, blaming those in charge of Kenosha and Wisconsinwhile raising apocalyptic warnings if their party should capture the
White House.
“These are not ac ts of peaceful protest but, really, domestic terror,” said Trump. And he condemned Democrats for not immediately accepting his offffffffffffer of federal assistance, claiming “They just don’t want us to come, these governors don’t want to call, and the 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 seventimes in the backby police as hewas getting into a carwhile they were trying to arrest him. Protests have beenconcentrated ina small area of Kenosha. While there were more than 30 fifires set in the fifirst three nights, the situation has calmed since then.
Trump’ s motorcade passed throngs of demonstrators, some holding American fl flags in support of the president, others jeeringwhile carrying signs that read Black Lives Matter. A massive police presence, complete with several armored vehicles, secured the area, and barricades were set up along several of the city’s major thoroughfares to keep onlookers at a distance fromthe passing presidential vehicles.
Of ff ff ff ff ff fe ring federal resources to help rebuild the city, Trump toured a high school that had been transformed into a lawenforcement command post. He said he tried to call Blake’s mother but opted against it after the family asked that a lawyer listen in.
He later added he felt “terribly” for anyone who suffered a loss, but otherwise only noted that the situation was “complicated” and “under investigation.” The only words acknowledging thesu ff ff ff ff ff ff e ring of African Americanscame from a pastor who attended the law enforcement roundtable.
Pressed by reporters, Trump repeatedly pivoted away fromassessing any sort
of structural racism in the nation or its police departments, instead blastingwhat he saw as anti-police rhetoric. Painting a darkportrait of parts of the nation, the president againlinked the radical forces he blamedfor the violence to the Democrats and their presidential nominee, Joe Biden, declaring that chaos could soon descend on other cities across America.
Trump condemned unrest in Portland, Oregon, too— as well as an increase in shootings in cities including Chicago and New York — and tried to take credit for stopping the violence in Kenoshawith theNationalGuard. But it was Wisconsin’s Democratic governor, TonyEvers, who deployed the Guard to quell demonstrations in response to the Blake shooting, andhe hadpleadedwith Trump to stay away for fear of straining tensions further.
Biden has assailed Trump as an instigator of the deadly protests that have sprung up on his watch. On the eve of his visit, Trump defended a teenager accused of fatally shooting two men at a demonstration in Kenosha last week though he did notmention the youngman Tuesday.
Claiming themantle of the “lawand order” Republican candidate, Trump insists that he, not Biden, is the leader best positioned to keepAmericans safe. He said his appearance in Kenosha would“increase enthusiasm” in Wisconsin, perhaps the
most hotly contested battleground state in the presidential race.
Blake’ s family held a Tuesday“community celebration” at a distance from Trump’s visit.
“Wedon’t needmorepain and division from a president set on advancing his campaign 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 Tuesday neithercandidate shouldvisit theWisconsincity as tension simmers. Biden’s team has considereda visit toKenosha and has indicated that a trip to Wisconsin was imminent but has not of ff ff ff ff ff fe red details.
Biden, in his most direct attacks yet, accused Trump on Monday of causing the divisions that have ignited the violence. He delivered an uncharacteristically blistering speech in Pittsburgh and distanced himself from radical forces involved in altercations.
Biden said of Trump: “He doesn’t want to shed light, he wants to generate heat, and he’s stoking violence in our cities. He can’t stop the violence because for years he’s fomented it.”
Trump and his campaign team have seized upon the unrest in Kenosha, as well as in Portland, where a Trump supporter was shot and killed, leaning hard into a defense of law and order while suggesting that Biden is beholden to extremists.