Trump mischaracterizes Kenosha protest shooting
President also defends Rittenhouse before visit
KENOSHA – On the eve of his visit to Kenosha, President Donald Trump defended a 17-year-old Illinois resident who was charged last week in a brutal shooting attack against demonstrators that left two people dead and one seriously wounded.
The president also mischaracterized the incident in which Kyle Rittenhouse was accused of using an assaultstyle rifle.
“That was an interesting situation, you saw the same tape that I saw,” Trump said Monday. “He was trying to get away from them, I guess, looks like, and he fell and then they very violently attacked him and it was something we’re looking at right now and it’s under investigation.”
“I guess, he was in very big trouble, he probably would have been killed,” Trump added.
At the point of the evening the president describes, the teen had shot and killed one protester, according to charging documents and video.
Trump’s latest comments set the stage for what could be a highly charged visit from the most powerful man in the world at a time when the community is still recovering from a week of shootings and unrest that left a Black man paralyzed, two white protesters dead and businesses looted and
burned.
The president is coming to Kenosha despite a plea from Wisconsin’s governor and other Democratic state leaders to stay away until the city has healed. He’ll arrive in a city still under a 7 p.m. curfew with more than 1,500 National Guard members on the scene.
He is expected to meet with local law enforcement officials and business owners and survey damage that has scarred several sections of the city.
“If I didn’t INSIST on having the National Guard activate and go into Kenosha, Wisconsin, there would be no Kenosha right now,” Trump tweeted on Monday morning, undeterred. “I will see you on Tuesday!”
Asked about the tweet and the president’s claim that without his action “there would be no Kenosha right now,” Kenosha County Executive Jim Kreuser said it was “a false statement.”
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers called the National Guard to Kenosha on Aug. 24, and increased the size of the deployment to 250 on Aug. 25, before Trump tweeted about the National Guard.
Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian said the timing of the president’s visit “is not good.”
“I think that you have a community that is in the process of trying to heal,” Antaramian said during a Monday news conference.
Trump said he is not planning to visit Jacob Blake, a Black Kenosha man who was shot seven times in the back by a city police officer on Aug. 23.
The shooting of Blake sparked protests and violence and drew to the city armed men who considered themselves to be part of a militia.
On Tuesday morning, Blake’s family will host a community gathering at the site of his shooting.
In a statement, Blake’s uncle Justin Blake said: “We don’t need more pain and division from a President set on advancing his campaign at the expense of our city. We need justice and relief for our vibrant community.”
The president’s trip is triggering another showdown — familiar in Wisconsin — in the middle of a tinderbox of heightened tensions, fear and anger among those who want justice for Blake, those who defend law enforcement, those who want Rittenhouse prosecuted and those who defend his actions.
The trip will require a significant amount of security for the president, resources Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers said he’s concerned will be at the expense of the city’s security.
“An in-person visit from you will require a massive re-direction of these resources to support your visit at a time when it is critical that we continue to remain focused on keeping the people of Kenosha safe and supporting the community’s response,” Evers wrote in a letter he sent to Trump on Sunday.
A spokeswoman for Trump’s campaign pushed back.
“President Donald Trump’s visit to Wisconsin will allow residents to see what a real leader looks like,” Anna Kelly, spokeswoman for Trump’s campaign in Wisconsin, said. “Governor Evers can go back into his office and shirk his responsibilities. After all, it is what he does best.”
Some local officials also want Trump to visit — suggesting Evers has not provided leadership for a moment that demands it.
“Kenoshans are hurting and looking for leadership, and your leadership in this time of crisis is greatly appreciated by those devastated by the violence in Kenosha,” seven Kenosha County supervisors, who are Republicans, wrote in a letter to Trump on Monday, asking him not to cancel his trip.
Three of the supervisors live in Kenosha, including Zach Rodriguez, whose south side Kenosha district is next to Uptown, which suffered significant damage during the unrest.
“I’m going to welcome any sitting president,” Rodriguez said. “I’d welcome Joe Biden to come see the destruction first hand.”
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Tuesday accused Trump of stoking violence in American cities.
“We have to stand against violence in every form it takes,” Biden said during a speech in Pennsylvania.
Biden spoke out against “unwarranted police shootings and excessive force,” condemned the violence of “extremists and opportunists” and “rightwing militias,” as well as the “senseless violence of looting and burning and destruction of property.”
“Rioting is not protesting, looting is not protesting, setting fires is not protesting,” Biden said. “None of this is protesting. It’s lawlessness, plain and simple. And those who do it should be prosecuted. Violence will not bring change, it will only bring destruction.”
Democrats and Republicans have gone to their corners on the issue of whether Trump should inject himself into the situation.
Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke of Kaukauna said: “As far as the president coming to Kenosha, just like Gov. Evers went to Kenosha, if he can bring some peace and healing, I think that’s important.”
Meanwhile, Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan tweeted “Donald Trump is playing political games with people’s lives—we don’t need his division & fearmongering in Kenosha.”
While the politicians trade barbs, Kenosha’s residents are still recovering from the unrest.
Jonathon Kim, owner of U.S Taekwondo Academy, said Trump’s visit is a “positive thing” — it will put a necessary national spotlight on Kenosha, he said.
And, he said, the level of security Trump brings to the city will help keep his business secure. The martial arts academy is located near the epicenter of much of the unrest and sustained $25,000 in damage last week.
“I can guarantee that tonight will be safe for us, I can probably guarantee that tomorrow should be safe for us. But after that, hopefully, it doesn’t explode into more,” Kim said.
“Kenosha will bounce back and be strong again,” he added.
But Armando Aguilar, a resident of the Uptown neighborhood hit hard by looting and fires, worries Trump’s visit will cause more division.
“It’s not the moment,” he said. Aguilar was walking around the neighborhood Monday to show his son the damage. He expressed sadness about the effect on so many businesses, including one owned by his friend that was burned to the ground.
“Kenosha’s never going to be the same after this,” he said.