Biden Meets with Blake's Family in Kenosha Visit
2020-09-04
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1Joe Biden, the Democratic Party presidential nominee, met with the family of Jacob Blake Thursday in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
2Blake is the Black man whose shooting by a white police officer set off days of protest and rioting in the midwestern city.
3Biden's campaign said the former vice president and his wife, Jill Biden, met in private with Blake's father, other family members and one of Blake's lawyers.
4Biden said he also spoke on the phone with the wounded man, who remains under treatment in a hospital.
5He "talked about how nothing was going to defeat him, how whether he walked again or not, he was not going to give up," Biden reported.
6He also said Blake had been moved out of intensive care.
7Blake is partly paralyzed from the shooting.
8Biden said his wife and Blake's mother, who was also on the call, both said prayers.
9Blake's mother said, "I'm praying for Jacob and I'm praying for the policeman as well. I'm praying that things change.'"
10President Donald Trump, the Republican Party candidate, was in Kenosha two days earlier.
11He did not meet with Blake's family during the September 1 visit.
12He walked through damaged areas in the city and met with police officials to discuss how to contain the violence.
13After the meeting with Blake's family, Biden held a community meeting at a church in the city.
14Clergy, activists, small business owners and others attended the meeting.
15Biden spoke about the 2017 white supremacist march in Charlottesville where a man killed a young counter-protester.
16Biden criticized a comment Trump made after the killing, that "they're very fine people on both sides."
17"It legitimizes the dark side of human nature," Biden said of the comment.
18Biden added, "We've reached an inflection point in American history. I honest to God believe we have an enormous opportunity now that the screen, the curtain has been pulled back on just what's going on in the country, to do a lot of really positive things."
19Kenosha is a city of 100,000 people in the important political battleground state of Wisconsin.
20Trump narrowly won the state in the 2016 election.
21The latest polls, however, show Biden with a small lead there for the upcoming November 3 election.
22On Thursday, a small group of Biden supporters, some Black Lives Matter activists and a Trump supporter gathered at a Kenosha park that had been a focal point of demonstrations for days.
23Michelle Stauder, who was holding a Biden-Harris campaign sign, told the Associated Press, "No one's perfect...But I'm excited about Biden. And I like that he's here spreading the word of peace and rebuilding."
24Nearby is Kenneth Turner with a Trump-Pence sign under his arm.
25He said, "Everyone is blaming Trump for everything...But problems here have been around a long time before Trump."
26Trump's campaign manager said the candidate went to Kenosha because he is president.
27He added that Biden is only putting "politics into a really serious situation that [the] president helped solve."
28The president plans to hold a campaign event later Thursday night in the state of Pennsylvania.
29Biden himself was in Pennsylvania on Monday to praise law enforcement officials and denounce violence.
30Pennsylvania is another battleground state that Trump narrowly won in 2016.
31Trump is also running behind Biden in the polls there.
32I'm Caty Weaver.
1Joe Biden, the Democratic Party presidential nominee, met with the family of Jacob Blake Thursday in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Blake is the Black man whose shooting by a white police officer set off days of protest and rioting in the midwestern city. 2Biden's campaign said the former vice president and his wife, Jill Biden, met in private with Blake's father, other family members and one of Blake's lawyers. 3Biden said he also spoke on the phone with the wounded man, who remains under treatment in a hospital. He "talked about how nothing was going to defeat him, how whether he walked again or not, he was not going to give up," Biden reported. 4He also said Blake had been moved out of intensive care. Blake is partly paralyzed from the shooting. 5Biden said his wife and Blake's mother, who was also on the call, both said prayers. Blake's mother said, "I'm praying for Jacob and I'm praying for the policeman as well. I'm praying that things change.'" 6President Donald Trump, the Republican Party candidate, was in Kenosha two days earlier. He did not meet with Blake's family during the September 1 visit. He walked through damaged areas in the city and met with police officials to discuss how to contain the violence. 7After the meeting with Blake's family, Biden held a community meeting at a church in the city. Clergy, activists, small business owners and others attended the meeting. 8Biden spoke about the 2017 white supremacist march in Charlottesville where a man killed a young counter-protester. Biden criticized a comment Trump made after the killing, that "they're very fine people on both sides." 9"It legitimizes the dark side of human nature," Biden said of the comment. Biden added, "We've reached an inflection point in American history. I honest to God believe we have an enormous opportunity now that the screen, the curtain has been pulled back on just what's going on in the country, to do a lot of really positive things." 10Why Wisconsin? 11Kenosha is a city of 100,000 people in the important political battleground state of Wisconsin. Trump narrowly won the state in the 2016 election. The latest polls, however, show Biden with a small lead there for the upcoming November 3 election. 12On Thursday, a small group of Biden supporters, some Black Lives Matter activists and a Trump supporter gathered at a Kenosha park that had been a focal point of demonstrations for days. 13Michelle Stauder, who was holding a Biden-Harris campaign sign, told the Associated Press, "No one's perfect...But I'm excited about Biden. And I like that he's here spreading the word of peace and rebuilding." 14Nearby is Kenneth Turner with a Trump-Pence sign under his arm. He said, "Everyone is blaming Trump for everything...But problems here have been around a long time before Trump." 15Trump's campaign manager said the candidate went to Kenosha because he is president. He added that Biden is only putting "politics into a really serious situation that [the] president helped solve." 16The president plans to hold a campaign event later Thursday night in the state of Pennsylvania. Biden himself was in Pennsylvania on Monday to praise law enforcement officials and denounce violence. 17Pennsylvania is another battleground state that Trump narrowly won in 2016. Trump is also running behind Biden in the polls there. 18I'm Caty Weaver. 19Hai Do wrote this story for Learning English with additional reporting from the Associated Press. Caty Weaver was the editor. 20__________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22paralyzed - adj. unable to move part of the body 23counter-protester - compound noun: a person who is against the protester 24legitimize - v. make something acceptable 25inflection - n. a change 26enormous - adj. very great in size or amount 27opportunity - n. a time or situation in which something can be done 28positive - adj. good or useful