MILWAUKEE: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Tuesday visited with the Milwaukee County sheriff as part of a campaign stop just days after the city was wracked by violence following the police shooting of a black man.
Trump began his visit with a meeting with local law enforcement officers at the Milwaukee County War Memorial Center on Lake Michigan, where he was joined by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Among those present were Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke and Inspector Edward Bailey. Clarke in an op-ed Monday blamed liberal Democrats and the media for the unrest that has rocked the city.
Trump also posed for photographs with a handful of veterans, including one wearing a “Hillary for Prison” T-shirt.
Clinton said Monday during a stop in Scranton, Pa., that the Milwaukee protests showed the nation had “urgent work to do to rebuild trust between police and communities” and that “everyone should have respect for the law and be respected by the law.”
In an interview on Fox News Channel, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker accused Clinton of “inflaming the situation” with her comments.
“I think people understand in that neighborhood and Sherman Park and in Milwaukee, they want law enforcement to step up and protect them,” Walker said, adding that “statements like that” from Clinton and a “lack of leadership” from Obama “only inflame the situation.”
Trump said that protesters must respect law and order because without it, “you don’t have a country.”
Speaking in an interview with Wisconsin’s WKBT-TV, Trump was asked about complaints by protesters in Milwaukee over underlying inequalities and lack of education.
Trump said, “it’s about a lot of things, including jobs and others, but we still have to have law and order.”
Trump told Fox News that the shooting in Milwaukee may have occurred because the officer had a gun to his head.
“Who can have a problem with that?” Trump said in an excerpt of the interview, aired Tuesday. “If it is true, then people shouldn’t be rioting.”
Police say 23-year-old Sylville Smith was fleeing a traffic stop Saturday and was armed with a handgun when he was shot by a black police officer. The mayor and police chief say body-camera video shows Smith had the gun in hand and had turned toward the officer when he was shot.
Police said Tuesday morning they arrested 10 people overnight but that the north side was much calmer than the weekend. Six businesses were burned Saturday night.