Trump’s Kenosha visit laid bare his campaign strategy to leverage disorder and violence against Biden while simultaneously promoting it himself.

What Happened:

Trump continued to push his one-sided narrative of ‘domestic terror’ against police and property during his visit to Kenosha, Wisconsin. Protests erupted in Kenosha after an unarmed black man, Jacob Blake, was shot seven times in the back by police. Blake is recovering in the hospital, but is paralyzed from the waist down as a result of his injuries. 

During his visit, Trump surveyed damaged property with local law enforcement, but did not meet with Blake’s family on the grounds that their wanting lawyers present was ‘inappropriate’. 

Kenosha is also grieving two fatal shooting victims, who were murdered amid the protests that followed Blake’s shooting. The assailant, 17-year old Kyle Rittenhouse, used an AR-15 rifle and traveled from Illinois to Kenosha to allegedly protect private property.  

Why it Matters:

Trump is Actively Inciting Violence

During a “Fox and Friends” interview just before her departure from the White House, Kellyanne Conway stated “The more chaos and anarchy and vandalism and violence reigns, the better it is for the very clear choice on who’s best on public safety and law and order.” Apparently, the irony that Trump is the presiding president over this chaos was lost on them. 

Trump referred to a group of his supporters who fired paint and pellet guns at protests in Portland as ‘GREAT PATRIOTS’ in a tweet. 

Trump has also refused to condemn the homicides in Kenosha. Meanwhile, Donald Trump Jr. has defended the Kenosha shooter by retweeting a post from a user claiming that Rittenhouse’s actions inspired him to vote for Trump in 2020. 

Trump Refuses to Address Police Violence

According to a Washington Post analysis, Black Americans are twice as likely to be killed by police. 

Trump has omitted this from his messaging on law and order in the United States. Instead, he has asserted that more white people die at the hands of police while overlooking the fact that  73% of the U.S. population is white and 13% is black.