In the aftermath of deadly violence and rioting in his state, Gov. Tony Evers said that President Trump is not welcome in Wisconsin.
The Democrat governor has fought the president throughout the violent uprisings in his state and has now advised Trump to reassess visiting Kenosha on Tuesday, where demonstrations against the police have devolved into fatal riots in the past week.
“I, along with other community leaders who have reached out, are concerned about what your presence will mean for Kenosha and our state,” Evers said in a letter to the president. “I am concerned your presence will only hinder our healing. I am concerned your presence will only delay our work to overcome division and move forward together,” says the letter published by The Associated Press.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) asks President Donald Trump to reconsider visit to Kenosha. pic.twitter.com/TcUtM6dPWn
— Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) August 30, 2020
Trump said he would be traveling to Kenosha to survey the damage created by the Black Lives Matter and Antifa rioting. A number of businesses have been defaced and some structures, as well as several car lots, were set on fire throughout the turmoil.
The president will be gathering with Kenosha law enforcement officers, White House spokesman Judd Deere confirmed.
“The White House has been humbled by the outreach of individuals from Kenosha who have welcomed the President’s visit and are longing for leadership to support local law enforcement and businesses that have been vandalized,” Deere replied in a letter to the Wisconsin governor. “President Trump looks forward to visiting on Tuesday and helping this great city heal and rebuild.”
The destruction in Kenosha, which took its cue from months of unrest in numerous larger cities throughout the country, began last week when 29-year-old Jacob Blake, a black man accused of sexual assault who was allegedly ignoring police orders to drop a knife while reaching into his car, was shot seven times on Aug. 23 by Officer Rusten Sheskey, according to reports.
Video of the incident made its way to social media. Sheskey appears to fire on Blake as he reaches into his vehicle, where Wisconsin investigators say a deadly weapon was discovered. Blake is now paralyzed from the waist down.
“Well, I’m looking into it very strongly. I’ll be getting reports,” Trump told WMUR New Hampshire in an interview Friday. “It was not a good sight. I didn’t like the sight of it, certainly, and I think most people would agree with that.”
The incident with Blake set off days of street demonstrations and violent riots that ended in the deaths of two activists last Tuesday. Seventeen-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse is being charged with the shooting death of two left-wing demonstrators with a high-powered rifle, where he is claiming self-defense.
Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes also articulated his apprehension about the president’s trip. “I don’t know how, given any of the previous statements that the president made, that he intends to come here to be helpful. And we absolutely don’t need that right now,” Barnes told CNN in an interview on Sunday.
President Trump has criticized what most media outlets call “protesters” as “thugs” while expressing his support for police officers. He has verbalized his support for law enforcement throughout the summer while cities under Democratic leadership have fallen victim to violence and mob takeovers.
People have gathered under the semblance of demonstrating against police brutality and racial injustice since George Floyd’s death while in custody of Minneapolis police in late May. Chicago, Seattle, Portland, New York, and now Kenosha, among other cities, have erupted in chaos with lives lost and hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to local businesses and municipal infrastructure.
Many conservatives say a firm stance on “law and order” in the coming weeks ahead of the 2020 election is the best way for Trump to flip votes against Joe Biden as well as recover the support of people living in suburbs, especially women.