Biden to Meet with Jacob Blake’s Family in Kenosha Visit

(Bloomberg) -- Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden will meet Thursday with the family of Jacob Blake, a Black man shot seven times by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, two days after President Donald Trump visited the city engulfed by protests.

Biden and his wife, Jill, will also hold a community meeting “to bring together Americans to heal and address the challenges we face,” his campaign said.

“There’s been overwhelming requests that I do come,” Biden told reporters Wednesday in Delaware. “What we want to do is we’ve got to heal. We’ve got to put things together, bring people together. And so my purpose in going will be to do just that -- to be a positive influence on what’s going on, talk about what need be done and try to see if there’s a beginning of a mechanism to bring the folks together. We have to heal.”

It will be Biden’s first trip to Wisconsin of his presidential campaign since the coronavirus pandemic cut off his travel before the state’s Democratic primary earlier this year.

Trump didn’t meet Blake’s family during his Tuesday visit. He declined to speak with Blake’s mother because she wanted lawyers to monitor the conversation.

Two weeks ago, Blake was paralyzed after being shot in the back by a White police officer in Kenosha, spurring protests over police brutality and systemic racism. Biden, who has spoken with Blake’s family, said Wednesday that the officer should face charges for the incident.

Trump’s visit Tuesday -- made over the objections of the governor and the city’s mayor -- sought to frame the protests as a matter of law and order, while sidestepping the issues that triggered the demonstrations. Trump toured what the White House called “riot” damage on Kenosha’s streets before meeting with police leaders.

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