On Tuesday, United States President Donald Trump visited Kenosha, Wisconsin, the site of the most recent violent protests that surged after a police officer shot Jacob Blake in the back seven times. During his visit, Trump criticized the "anti-American" demonstrations and promised to assist businesses in the region rebuild their establishments.
Supporting local law enforcement and businesses
The US president continued to reveal that he will be giving $1 million to Kenosha law enforcement that he wants to be used to support what police are supposed to do in the city.
Trump announced that another $4 million would be distributed among small businesses that have been ravaged by the chaos and another $42 million to be used to bolster public safety to avoid the same incident happening somewhere else.
According to Fox News, Trump told reporters that his administration would help the state get back on its feet and help business owners rebuild their establishments. The US president promised to straighten the state out after the violent protests.
The Republican proceeded to tour the area ravaged by the chaos, including one building burned and still smelled of smoke. The US president was accompanied by Attorney General William Barr and Chad Wolf, the acting Homeland Security Secretary.
During his visit, Trump spoke with Kenosha law enforcement and six other individuals who were reportedly victims of losing their businesses to rioters and looters amid the movements.
In a roundtable meeting with law enforcement and business owners, Trump said that the state had been devastated by anti-police and anti-American riots. The US president conducted the discussion after visiting an emergency operations center. He added that the demonstrations were not at all peaceful and called them acts of domestic terror.
Trump's visit to Kenosha was also welcomed by protesters where a large group of people raised their middle fingers towards the Republican amid his motorcade.
Quelling the violent protests
The president's statements included one where he said that the state would have been burned to the ground had he not intervened, as reported by Saudi Gazette. He continued to defend police across the country and said that media outlets only focused on their wrong sides.
President Trump noted that despite police officers doing multiple feats of heroism, media outlets are quick to report the incidents highlighting the negative image of law enforcement once they make one wrong move.
The Republican also criticized far-left politicians and blamed them for the rise of protests due to officials spreading destructive messages that accuse the country and its police force of being oppressive or racist towards citizens.
Local Democrats expressed their objections of Trump's visit to their state, including Governor Tony Evers, who had employed the aid of the National Guard in an attempt to quell the violence and said that the president's presence in the state would most likely obstruct their rebuilding efforts.
In a letter sent before Trump visited Kenosha, the governor said that he was concerned the Republican's travel would only hinder their efforts to move past the division created by the incident and move forward as one state.
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