Bidens to visit Kenosha on Thursday and meet with Jacob Blake's family
Washington — Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and Jill Biden will visit Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Thursday, two days after President Trump made his own visit to the city following the shooting of Jacob Blake by a police officer there and protests in response to the incident.
The Biden campaign said during the trip, the former vice president will hold a "community meeting" to "bring together Americans to heal and address the challenges we face" and make an undisclosed local stop.
The trip marks the presidential hopeful's first to Wisconsin, a crucial battleground state, this year, as the coronavirus pandemic brought campaign travel to a halt.
Mr. Trump traveled to Kenosha on Tuesday despite objections from Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers and community leaders who urged him to reconsider the visit due to concerns he would inflame tensions between law enforcement and demonstrators. The president was joined by Attorney General William Barr and Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf on the trip, during which he toured businesses damaged in recent unrest and met with local law enforcement.
CBS News confirmed that Biden will meet with members of Blake's family while in Kenosha. He and Kamala Harris, his running mate, have spoken with Blake's family, their attorney Benjamin Crump said Sunday on "Face the Nation."
Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, was shot seven times in the back by a police officer in Kenosha last month. He remains in the hospital and is partially paralyzed. Mr. Trump did not visit Blake's family during his visit to Kenosha.
The shooting sparked the latest round of protests against police brutality and racial injustice that began following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May, which in some places have led to violent demonstrations and clashes with law enforcement.
During a speech from Pittsburgh on Monday, Biden condemned the violence and blamed Mr. Trump for fanning the flames, calling him a "toxic presence."
