Jacob Blake’s family has spoken out against President Donald Trump’s visit to Kenosha, Wisconsin, making it clear they do not wish to see or hear from him.
Trump is visiting Kenosha after a week of civil unrest. Blake was shot seven times in the back by police officer Rusten Sheskey that has left him paralyzed from the waist down.
Days of protests ensued. During one of the demonstrations, an Illinois teenager, Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, is alleged to have shot and killed two men.
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As theGrio reported, Trump expressed sympathy for Rittenhouse and claimed he may have acted in self-defense during a White House press briefing.
“He was trying to get away from them, I guess, it looks like,” Trump said.
Trump also declared that he would not be meeting with Blake’s family because their lawyers wanted to be present.
“They wanted me to speak but they wanted to have lawyers involved. I thought it was inappropriate so I didn’t do that,” he said.
“They did have a lawyer that wanted to be on the phone and I said, ‘No, that’s inappropriate,’ but I just gave my best regards.”
As he boarded Air Force One to depart for Wisconsin, Trump left it open if he would change his mind about meeting with Blake’s family.
“I don’t know yet. We’ll see,” he said.
However, the Blake family maintains that they have had no contact with Trump or any of his staff.
“Whatever they’re talking about is a ruse, and that’s why we’re doing what we’re doing today, so they can’t take over the narrative. We’re going to keep things on Jacob Blake getting justice, and healing little Jake,” Justin Blake said during a press conference on Tuesday that was attended by the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
“Our nephew was shot seven times in the back. Nothing could justify that…We don’t have any words for the orange man. All I ask is that he keep his disrespectful foul language far away from our family,” Blake said.
Jackson, who was in Kenosha to support the family, said “There’s a pattern of killing. We deserve equal protection from the law – we’re not getting it.”
In another interview with ABC’s Zohreen Shah on Sunday, Blake’s uncle charged Trump with fomenting so much of the anger that is being felt in the streets of Kenosha.
“How could they not be feeding on violence when the man in the White House is steady drumming it up? Did you not think it would not trickle down to the streets? It has,” Justin Blake said. “So we have the opportunity to control the narrative as the Blake family, and we’re gonna do that.”
He continued that the family had no desire to meet with the commander-in-chief during his trip to Kenosha.
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“I hope he likes Kenosha. It’s a beautiful place and beautiful people,” Justin Blake said. “But our family don’t particularly want to have anything to do with him. We believe he incited this violence.”
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