Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers is not keen on Donald Trump visiting Kenosha this week, penning a letter urging Trump to “reconsider” his plans, concerned that the impeached president may “hinder” instead of help the city, which is still reeling after the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
“This past week has been particularly difficult. Kenosha and communities across Wisconsin are enduring extraordinary grief, grappling with a Black man being shot seven times and the loss of two additional lives on Tuesday night at the hands of an out-of-state armed militant,” Evers in a letter to Trump on Sunday, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “When I visited Kenosha last week, what I saw was a community working to deal with the trauma and pain of these events and extreme loss.”
“I, along with other community leaders who have reached out, are concerned about what your presence will mean for Kenosha and our state,” Evers added. “I am concerned your presence will only hinder our healing. I am concerned your presence will only delay our work to overcome division and move forward together.”
Evers wasn’t the only official who expressed concerns, with Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul chiming in on Twitter, noting, “Instead of thinking about what’s best for Donald Trump’s campaign, he and his advisors—for once—need to think about what’s best for the people he was elected to represent and not come to Kenosha this week.”
“A president should be coming to Kenosha—to help people, to listen, to condemn violence and vigilantism, and to lead. But we know that isn’t Donald Trump,” Kaul added.
However, according to CNN, Trump seems to be going forward with his plans to visit this week, even after Evers’s letter.
“The White House has been humbled by the outreach of individuals from Kenosha who have welcomed the President’s visit and are longing for leadership to support local law enforcement and businesses that have been vandalized,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere said in a statement on Sunday night, according to the network. “President Trump looks forward to visiting on Tuesday and helping this great city heal and rebuild.”
Trump is expected to meet with law enforcement on his trip to Kenosha. It is not clear if he will meet with Blake’s family, according to CNN, with Deere saying the president’s schedule is still being smoothed out.
Blake is currently paralyzed from the waist down after being shot seven times in the back by Kenosha police. His police shooting once again stirred up unrest across the nation, igniting protests in the city. During one of the volatile protests last week, two individuals were shot and killed by 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse