Biden to visit Kenosha on Thursday, plans to convey message of unity

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden will travel Thursday to Kenosha, Wisc., to discuss the recent wave of protests and violence taking place in the wake of the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old black man. 

Biden's visit comes two days after President Trump traveled to the city of just over 100,000. Trump met with local law enforcement officers and inspected the damage brought about by the recent riots. 

Biden will meet with the family of Jacob Blake, who remains hospitalized after being shot seven times on Aug. 26 by a police officer. He also plans on holding a community discussion that will feature business owners, local leaders, and law enforcements officers.

Biden said on Wednesday that, the purpose of his trip today is "making sure that we move forward." 

Following the death of George Floyd while in police custody on May 25, Biden has called for a reexamination of policing and more national dialogue on race and racism. He has yet to announce any major policies for change. However, the choice of Sen. Kamala Harris, the first black and Indian woman to join a major party's presidential ticket, was seen, in part, as a response to the significance of this political moment. 

On Monday, as part of an in-person campaign event in Pittsburgh, Biden made clear that he does not support the calls to defund police departments that have followed Floyd's death.

On his Tuesday visit, Trump called the violence in Kenosha "not acts of peaceful protest but, really, domestic terror."

Taking a starkly different tone, Biden believes this may be a moment for him to bring the country together. 

"I spent my whole life ... bringing people together, bringing the community and police officers together, bringing business leaders and civic leaders together,” he said. "There's been so many fissures exposed as a consequence of what's happened that people are now realizing ...  What an enormous opportunity to bring the country together."

Biden also praised the behavior and actions of most police officers. 

"Look, the vast majority of police officers are good, decent honorable women and men," Biden said. "They put on that shield every morning. They have a right to go home that night safely."

The good officers "want to get rid of the bad cops more than anybody else does, because it reflects on them," the former Vice President continued.

Several weeks ago, the New York City Police Benevolent Association, a powerful New York police union, endorsed Trump for reelection, saying other politicians had failed them. The organization had not endorsed a presidential candidate in more than three decades.

Biden has denounced violence and rioting since the early days of national protests this summer, though his campaign has recently ramped up the visibility of his stance against the destruction brought about by the riots in many major U.S. cities. 

Though much of the media has consistently called the demonstrations "mostly peaceful," business owners and residents of impacted areas are losing their patience for that type of coverage, as they watch their cities burn.

Following a Democratic National Convention that was devoid of mention of the unrest in major Democrat-run cities, the Biden campaign has pivoted to address the issue, which has become a top concern of voters. 

Biden will meet Thursday with he father of Jacob Blake, Jacob Blake Sr., who has made several high-profile media appearances since his son was shot by Kenosha police officers and has largely been responsible for communicating the status of his hospitalized son to the public.

Thursday morning, several incendiary and anti-semitic social media posts from Blake Sr. surfaced. Included in Blake Sr.'s alleged posts, recently reviewed by Breitbart News, are messages of support for Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, conspiracy theories about Jews controlling the media, doubts about the legitimacy of Kamala Harris's political platform, and even one post speculating that the Jewish congregation at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh were given a warning in advance before their place of worship was shot up nearly two years ago.