‘Peace versus violence’: Joe Biden visits Kenosha to set out alternative to Trump’s handling of racial justice protests

For the second time in just three days, a battle-scarred Kenosha becomes the backdrop to one of the most divisive and acrimonious political campaigns in recent US history

Joe Biden speaks at Grace Lutheran Church in Kenosha Wisconsin (AFP/Getty)

Joe Biden came to the Wisconsin city of Kenosha on Thursday to set out an alternative vision for how a president should respond to civil disorder and racial justice.

Just two days after Donald Trump’s visit, the former vice president sought to draw a dividing line between his rival’s focus on law and order and a presidency that would address systemic racism and unify a divided country.

“There’s a chance for a real awakening here, and the point is, I don’t think we have any alternative but to fight,” Mr Biden told a community meeting at the Grace Lutheran Church in Wisconsin.

“It’s really not about me but if there are four more years, we’re going to have four more years of the exact same thing, only it’s going to impact us for a couple generations,” he said.

For the second time in just three days, a battle-scarred Kenosha became the backdrop to one of the most divisive and acrimonious political campaigns in recent US history – a testing ground for two vastly different approaches to the issue of racial justice ahead of elections in November.

Donald Trump tours an area affected by civil unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on 1 September 2020 (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty)

Both of the candidates’ itineraries mirrored their message. Mr Trump met with police and business owners on Tuesday to emphasise the violent nature of the protests that followed the police shooting of 29-year-old Jacob Blake and highlight his commitment to an uncompromising law and order platform.

Mr Biden, meanwhile, made Mr Blake’s family the focus of his visit. He spent more than an hour with his father, Jacob Blake Sr and his siblings, and later spoke by phone to Mr Blake, who is recovering in hospital, paralysed, after being shot seven times in the back.

“I think the difference between the two of them is peace versus violence,” said Ingrid Verhulst, a 71-year-old retiree, outside of the Grace Lutheran Church. “Biden brings peace and understanding and an effort to reconcile differences. Trump essentially foments violence.”

Just days ago, during the president’s visit, Mr Trump’s supporters had said the same thing about Mr Biden, accusing him of playing down the violent nature of the demonstrations and of not showing enough sympathy with innocent business owners caught up in chaos.

Mr Biden has repeatedly condemned rioting and looting, and did so again on Thursday during his visit to Kenosha.

“Regardless how angry you are, if you loot or you burn, you should be held accountable,” he said. This week, his campaign spent $45m on a nationwide campaign commercial in which he forthrightly condemns rioting of the kind that happened in Kenosha.

He also echoed protesters’ calls for racial justice, and made a call for unity.

“I think we’ve reached an inflection point in American history. People are beginning to figure out who we are as a country. This is not who we are.”

It was that healing message that many wanted to hear. Collette, a Kenosha resident who came with her 13-year-old son and gave only her first name, said she felt his visit “was needed.”

“He spoke with the families for over an hour. At least he showed he cared,” she said of Mr Biden. “Trump didn’t want to speak to the family.”

I want to hear some kind words, some healing words

Maurice Thomas, Kenosha resident

Both Mr Trump and Mr Biden had been urged to stay away by local leaders to give the city a chance to heal. Mr Trump’s visit led to confrontations between his supporters and racial justice protesters in downtown Kenosha.

Mr Biden said he decided to come after receiving requests from community leaders. Inside the church, he heard from residents impacted by the recent rioting.

“I look at the buildings in our community that are gone,” said Barb DeBerge, owner of DeBerge Framing & Gallery, which still stands. “I don’t think I really grieved as much as I should because being a business owner, I have to keep going, I have to keep working.”

He also heard from local activists who called for urgent reform.

“We have yet to see action. And I was always raised to go off action, not words,” Porsche Bennett, a Black Lives Matter organiser told Mr Biden.

But not everyone welcomed the former vice president’s visit.

“There’s no reason for him to be here. He’s not our president. He doesn’t have anything to offer us,” said Amy Dillon, a Kenosha resident, who stood across the road with a Trump sign.

“If he’s for healing, why are all of the cities that are run by members of his party on fire right now. That doesn’t make sense to me.”

As Mr Biden arrived for the meeting, a small group of Black Lives Matter protesters blocked traffic, forcing the vice president’s motorcade to drive around to the back of the church.

Protesters stand in front of Trump supporters during the president’s visit to Kenosha, Wisconsin. (Richard Hall / The Independent ) (Richard Hall / The Independent)

But there were good reasons for both candidates to come. Wisconsin, a swing state, is crucial for both campaigns’ path to victory. Mr Trump won Kenosha county by only 250 votes in 2016, and the state of Wisconsin by a margin of 0.7 percent. Democrats have made inroads with suburban voters since then, and Mr Biden is currently leading in polls.

The competing visits have underscored the division that still permeates this once-quiet city of 100,000 on the shores of Lake Michigan, which has been thrust into the national conversation in recent days.

In the chaos of the election motorcades, some feared that the issues that sparked the disturbances in the first place were being overshadowed.

“I want to hear some kind words, some healing words,” Maurice Thomas, a 51-year-old plumber and father of two sons, said of Mr Biden’s visit. “I didn’t come for Mr Trump, because I didn’t think I would get that from him.”

“I worry about my sons. I’ve taught them how to interact with the police. Do what they say. Every black parent has had that talk with their kids.”

“There ain’t no way they should have shot that guy like that,” said Mr Thomas, referring to the police shooting of Jacob Blake, which sparked the protests in Kenosha.

Mr Blake was shot seven times in the back by a Kenosha police officer during an attempted arrest on August 23. Violent protests erupted for the days following, leading to the destruction of property and looting. Most of that damage has yet to be repaired.

The situation was made even worse when an alleged vigilante shot and killed two protesters during the disturbances, raising fear of civil conflict. A 17-year-old Trump supporter, Kyle Rittenhouse, has been charged with two murders.

“You can see the difference when the police let that kid walk past them after shooting some people with a military-style weapon. I want that to stop.”