White House says Trump is going to Kenosha because he ‘wants to visit hurting Americans.’
At a press briefing on Monday, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said President Trump is visiting Kenosha, Wis., on Tuesday, where protests and violence erupted after a police officer shot Jacob Blake, because “the president wants to visit hurting Americans.”
Video Transcript
- Broadly, what does the president want to achieve by going to Kenosha tomorrow? And what is his or the White House's response to local and state leaders, encouraging him not to come at this time?
- So two things. First, the president wants to visit hurting Americans. He shows up, just like he showed up this weekend in Louisiana and Texas, in response to Hurricane Laura. So he wants to show up in the city that's hurting.
And also, I think it's just important to note that our federal response. Look, in Kenosha and Minneapolis, there was violence on the streets. And literally, within 24 hours, you saw a turnaround when federal officials came in. So I think highlighting that the federal government has done a lot, in the way of using law in order to create peace. But showing up for hurting Americans is the primary concern.
- Just to follow up on that. Like, he didn't-- he didn't show up in Portland, where there were also protests that he talked about a lot. Is it-- is it not also because Wisconsin is such an important political state?
- The President is showing up to see hurting Americans. He goes to several states each and every week. And this is another one in a long line of many.
