[UPDATE] Trump Tours Damaged Properties Following BLM Riots In Kenosha
The president -- alongside officials including Attorney General William Barr and acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf --toured the areas of Kenosha, Wisconsin, damage by the recent riots and looting.
Trump toured the area, including a burnt out building still smelling of smoke.
The president also visited an emergency operations center.
At a roundtable with law enforcement and business owners, the president slammed the rioters. "These are not acts of peaceful protests, but domestic terror," Trump said.
"To stop the political violence we must also confront the radical ideology that includes this violence. Reckless far-left politicians continue to push the destructive message that our nation and our law enforcement are oppressive or racist -- they'll throw out any word that comes to them," he said at the roundtable.
Trump announced $1 million to Kenosha law enforcement "so you have extra money to go out and do what you have to do." He also announced $4 million to support local businesses affected by the violence, and $42 million to support public safety statewide -- including support for law enforcement and prosecutors.
Even as local Democrats, including Gov. Tony Evers, objected to the visit, the president was warmly welcomed by Kenosha residents, business and law enforcement leaders.
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The president travels to Kenosha Tuesday, to thank the men and women of law enforcement, following the riots after the police shooting Aug. 23 of Jacob Blake.
Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, was charged with shooting to death two left-wing extremists during the ensuing protests.
At a White House press briefing Monday, the president disputed claims his visit would exacerbate deadly tensions, telling reporters it "could also increase enthusiasm and it could increase love and respect for our country." The Democrat governor and mayor had asked the president to delay his visit.
The president currently has no plans to meet with Blake or his family.
Trump will "surveys property affected by recent riots" on his Kenosha trip, according to his schedule. Trump also plans to visit an emergency operations center and host "a roundtable on Wisconsin Community Safety."
Responding to a reporter's question about Rittenhouse's case, Trump noted that the shooting remained under investigation. Referring to cell phone video of the incident, the president told reporters that the 17 year-old kid was "trying to get away from them, I guess, it looks like" and said that protesters "violently attacked him."
"I guess he was in very big trouble," Trump said of Rittenhouse. "He would have been, he probably would have been killed. But it's under – it's under investigation."
Discussing the Jacob Blake shooting in an interview with Fox News Laura Ingraham Monday, the president appeared to criticize the Kenosha officer who shot Blake by saying, "shooting a guy in the back many times – I mean, couldn’t you have done something different?" He also defended the officer, saying the victim "might have been going for a weapon."
Trump then added, speaking of police officers: "But they choke, just like in a golf tournament – they miss a three-foot putt."
Speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews en route to Kenosha, Tuesday, the president told reporters that people are disgusted at the way these Democrat cities are being run.
All the cities and and states ravaged by riots and gun violence are run by Democrats. He urged the Democrat mayors and governors to accept his offer of federal security assistance.