California Rep. Karen Bass said President Trump’s only intention with his upcoming visit to Kenosha, Wisconsin, is to agitate those mourning Jacob Blake.
Bass, a California Democrat who had been a top contender to be Joe Biden’s running mate, told CNN that Trump’s planned visit for Tuesday to survey the damage from the recent riots in Kenosha will only make the situation worse and accused the president of encouraging violent clashes between his supporters and his opposition, including the recent deadly shooting in Portland, Oregon.
“I think his visit has one purpose and one purpose only and that is to agitate things and to make things worse,” Bass said. “You know, it also happened in Portland, too. You saw a parade of Trump supporters actually actively shooting paintballs at peaceful protesters, and the president, in my opinion, encourages that. He actually retweeted the people firing paint guns,” Bass added.
“So I think he only means to agitate things. He is campaigning. It’s clear his campaign is all about law and order. It’s a throwback to the past, and he’s going to do everything to disrupt law and order in this time period,” she said.
Trump shared a video on Sunday morning of the pro-Trump car caravan in Portland, calling the group “great patriots.” The group was filmed later in the day shooting paintballs at counterprotesters.
The man who was shot and killed in Portland on Saturday was wearing a thin blue line patch on his shorts, signaling his support for law enforcement, and a hat for Patriot Prayer, a far-right group, but police did not say if they think the shooting was related to the protests.
The riots in Kenosha were similarly violent last week. A 17-year-old is accused of fatally shooting two protesters and wounding another person. He is charged with reckless homicide and several other charges.
The Trump administration has said Democrats are the ones encouraging the violence by refusing federal law enforcement assistance.
Democratic Rep. Karen Bass says she thinks President Trump’s upcoming visit to Kenosha has “one purpose and one purpose only, and that is to agitate things and to make things worse” https://t.co/hmSUc0IwQH #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/ov4o9jynAa
— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) August 30, 2020
