United States President Trump has defended his camp and support-base for their alleged part in recent deadly street clashes in the city of Portland. He suggested a teen accused of killing two in Wisconsin last week and pro-Trump protesters involved in a face-off with BLM activists on Saturday had acted in self-defense.
Commenting on his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, the President accused him of not specifically disowning far left-activists accused of violence. The unrest has once again become a focal point of the largely peaceful anti-discrimination demonstrations. Biden entering the November election with some lead in opinion polls has called for non-violence and accused Republican in WH of fueling divisions in the American society.
President Trump
At Monday’s WH news conference, Trump accused Biden and other Democratic leadership for stoking violence in the cities under their rule. He blamed Democratic mayors and governors for aligning with protesters during civil disorder.
A CNN reporter asked the Republican President whether he would condemn the Republicans who fired paint bullets while clashing with anti-racism activists during the weekend in Portland. Mr. Trump depicted his fans as peaceful and said paint was a “a defensive mechanism, paint is not bullets”.
Trump who considers CNN as his arch-enemy, replied: “Your supporters, and they are your supporters indeed, shot a young gentleman who – and killed him, not with paint but with a bullet. And I think it is disgraceful.”
In the ongoing street confrontations Aaron Danielson – a member of a far-right group Patriot Prayer – was killed by a suspect reportedly belonging to a far-left network known as ‘Antifa”.
Another reporter asked Trump whether he would condemn a shooting in Kenosha, where a teenager once pictured at one of his rallies shot 3 people, two fatally, last week during the demonstrations against police-brutality against an African American, Jacob Blake.
We’re looking at all of that, “Trump said in his first public comments about the suspect who was seen on video being pursued down a street and firing a weapon.
“That was an interesting situation, you saw the same tape as I saw, and he was trying to get away from them, I guess, it looks like. And he fell, and then they very violently attacked him.
“And it was something that we’re looking at right now, and it’s under investigation.
“I guess he was in very big trouble, he probably would have been killed.”
Two Democratic congressmen hit back at the president after his latest remarks. Joe Kennedy III of Massachusetts tweeted: “This is the United States President justifying a double murder by a white man illegally carrying an assault rifle across state lines.”
Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, who was charged as an adult has not been charged for the shooting crime. Eric Swalwell who represent California in congress pilloried the GOP president by claiming that he had just made Republicans “the Mass Shooter Party”.
Biden
Earlier on Monday, the former VP strongly condemned the violence at recent protests while accusing Trump of spreading tensions and making the country unsafe with his actions. It was the Democratic Presidential nominee’s most convincing effort yet to counter Republican agenda that berates him as weak on law and order.
“Do I look like a radical socialist with a soft spot for rioters?… Really?”, said Mr. Biden, speaking in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Biden then turned his guns toward Trump and charged him for nurturing and giving rise to the social unrest in the country for years.
“You know,” said Mr. Biden, “he may believe mouthing the words law and order makes him strong but his failure to call on his own supporters to stop acting as an armed militia in the country shows how weak he is.”
“Does anyone believe there will be less violence in America if Donald Trump is re-elected?” he asked.
Biden didn’t’ took any questions from the media and seemed to have change his mind on blasting the Trump-led national action on COVID-19 pandemic which has resulted in over 180,000 fatalities in the country.
