On Planet Zog

[struggle4progress]

Dana Milbank
September 1, 2020 at 7:46 p.m. EDT

... in the imaginary Kenosha that Trump created Tuesday afternoon at an invitation-only “roundtable” — in a high school cafeteria serving as a government “command center” — There was no pandemic ..; at his suggestion, everybody .. took off their face masks. There was no right-wing violence. (I heard no mention of the killings by the Trump-backing extremist.) There was no such thing as police brutality ... And there were hardly any Black people ...

... James Ward, who said he is the pastor to Blake’s mother, was asked by Trump to offer a prayer, then offered to discuss “the real pain that hurts Black Americans.” Trump wasn’t interested.

When Trump opened the roundtable to questions, a reporter asked the pastor whether he believed that there is systemic racism in law enforcement.

Before Ward could answer, Trump broke in ...

... shutting down the session, Trump turned to the muted pastor he had just used as a prop. “Fantastic job,” he said ...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/09/01/trump-flies-kenosha-lands-planet-zog/

[struggle4progress]

1. Business owner declines photo-op, former owner replaces him

... Tom Gram’s century-old camera shop burned to the ground a week ago during the unrest in Uptown Kenosha. Gram said he declined President Trump’s request to be a part of his tour of damage Tuesday in Kenosha. Instead, a former owner of the shop was invited and he praised the president’s efforts.

Gram has owned Rode’s Camera Shop since he bought the business from the Rode family eight years ago. He worked at the store for more than four decades, but that all came to an end last Monday when the building went up in flames ...

“I think everything he does turns into a circus and I just didn’t want to be involved in it,” Gram said.

To Gram’s surprise, he watched on TV as the president showed up with the store’s former owner and President Trump made it seem like the store was still his ...

https://www.tmj4.com/news/local-news/kenosha-business-owner-declines-president-trump-photo-op-former-owner-replaces-him

[struggle4progress]

2. Church U-Haul seizure in Kenosha

KENOSHA (WKOW) -- Kenosha police are explaining why a U-Haul filled with food and supplies for protesters was seized.

The Zao MKE Church brought the truck to Kenosha last Thursday.

Police say it was parked in the wrong direction on a one-way street and it was near a museum that had been targeted by attempted arsonists ...

https://wkow.com/2020/09/01/police-detail-reasons-behind-church-u-haul-seizure-in-kenosha/

[struggle4progress]

3. Stop talking about racism

By William Goldschlag
Updated September 2, 2020 6:06 AM

... a reporter asked Trump: "Do you believe systemic racism is a problem in this country?" His answer: "You just keep getting back to the opposite subject. We should talk about the kind of violence that we've seen in Portland and here and other places."

Trump was asked if there is a need for "structural change." He replied, "The people of Kenosha ... want to see law and order. That's the change they want" ...

https://www.newsday.com/long-island/politics/trump-stroke-denial-racism-kenosha-blake-police-laura-ingraham-coronavirus-biden-polls-fundraising-1.48846423

[struggle4progress]

4. A trap -- and an opportunity

Seth Cohen

... Kenosha is .. an opportunity .. for our country to finally declare what kind of nation it wants to be at this perilous moment in American history.

The trap being laid by the President and his allies ... is the epitome of his approach to moments of national trauma. The strategy is simple: express outrage at protestors while hedging the criticism of hateful and violent protagonists. By cautiously avoiding condemning avowed racists and anti-Semites, and refusing to castigate those who use violence to attack peaceful protestors, Trump tries to distract his opponents by attempting to blur the line of protests and hooliganism. In the end, he endorses both tactics, but only when it serves his agenda, infuriates his adversaries, and gaslights America about the need for more “law and order.”

... on Monday when, during a press conference, Trump was asked if he condemned the actions of Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old accused of using an assault rifle in the shooting deaths of Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum last week. Dismissing the question, Trump instead defended Rittenhouse by mischaracterizing the incident ...

... in Kenosha there is a powerful clarity of what is at stake as the nation teeters towards even more social conflict. The deadly consequences of police violence, the deadly result of highly armed vigilantism, and the crude exploitation of fear and anger are all abundantly apparent in Kenosha. What isn’t apparent is who will stand up and finally say “enough is enough” ...

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sethcohen/2020/09/01/kenosha-is-more-than-tragic-its-a-trap/#5a95130771ee

[struggle4progress]

5. 'This is going to heal very quickly'

Mitchell Schmidt | Wisconsin State Journal 1 hr ago

... Trump also .. mischaracterized how the National Guard was deployed and who authorized the deployment ...

The Wisconsin National Guard’s deployment began on Aug. 24 when Evers authorized 125 Guard members be deployed to Kenosha in response to the community’s request. Evers doubled that number, while also rejecting Trump’s offer of support from the Department of Homeland Security, the next day ...

Authorities said they had more than 1,500 National Guard members deployed in the community and Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth said more than 200 people have been arrested since the protests began.

The Guard has not been federalized and remains under the command of Evers and the Guard’s Maj. Gen. Paul Knapp ...

https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/president-trump-in-kenosha-this-is-going-to-heal-very-quickly/article_11d8ef32-bbf1-5912-a550-bccd582ad67d.html

[struggle4progress]

6. Misstates what happened in Kenosha

By COLLEEN LONG and SCOTT BAUER
yesterday

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is not waiting for a trial to sort out what happened on the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin, where prosecutors say a 17-year-old with a semi-automatic rifle fatally shot two men on a night of protest and violence. He’s giving an account at odds with the authorities who charged Kyle Rittenhouse with homicide ...

Trump ... spoke in defense of someone who opposed racial-justice protesters, who authorities say was illegally carrying a semi-automatic rifle and who prosecutors accuse of committing intentional homicide ...

https://apnews.com/e5c0dd83a2c172c0aed75b0a91517a55

[struggle4progress]

7. Doesn't mention racism

By Rachel Hinton Updated Sep 1, 2020, 8:59pm CDT

... Before the president arrived, an uncle of 29-year-old Jacob Blake .. delivered a stern message.

“We don’t have any words for the orange man in the White House,” said Justin Blake ... “Keep your disrespect and foul language away from our family” ...

Blake’s family says Pastor James E. Ward Jr. doesn’t represent them. Blake’s father confirmed that someone from the White House reached out to set up a call with Julia Jackson, Blake’s mother, and the family, but the administration declined when the family said their lawyers would be present on the call ...

https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/2020/9/1/21411351/trump-kenosha-jacob-blake-looting-protests-police