President Donald Trump told reporters Monday that he is not planning on meeting with the family of Jacob Blake, the man shot in the back seven times by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, because they wanted lawyers to be present for the conversation.
Trump, responding to a question from Reuters’ Jeff Mason during Monday’s press briefing, confirmed that he spoke to the family’s pastor, who made it clear that the family wished for a lawyer to be present during a potential meeting with Trump during his Tuesday trip to Kenosha. (RELATED: ‘I Will See You On Tuesday’: Trump Says He Will Go To Kenosha Despite Wisconsin Governor’s Objection)
WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 31: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media during a news conference in the briefing room at the White House on August 31, 2020 in Washington, DC. President Trump spoke on several topics including unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin and Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
“I thought it would be better not to do anything where there are lawyers involved,” Trump said. “They wanted me to speak, but they wanted to have lawyers involved, and I thought that was inappropriate so I didn’t do that.”
The president added that he “may at some point” reverse his decision.
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Later in the briefing, Trump was asked if he condemned the action of “vigilantes” like Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old Illinois man who allegedly shot and killed two rioters in Kenosha. The president answered that the federal government is “looking at all of it,” before adding that it “was an interesting situation.”
Trump, further pressed on whether private citizens should take the law into their own hands, stated he thinks “everything should be taken care of with law enforcement, but we have to give our cops back, our police back their dignity.”
The president spent his opening statements harshly criticizing Democratic lawmakers and local government officials for failing to stop rioting and looting that took place after Blake’s shooting, and the police killings of other black Americans like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
Trump is scheduled to visit Kenosha on Tuesday, where White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany stated he will seek to “unify” the community.