Photo: Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images
Democratic nominee Joe Biden and his running mate Sen. Kamala Harris said Wednesday they have spoken with the family of Jacob Blake, a Black man who was shot at least seven times in the back by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The big picture: Protests have erupted across the country as Blake remains in the hospital paralyzed from the waist down. Two people were shot and killed during clashes in Kenosha overnight, resulting in the arrest of a 17-year-old male. President Trump said Wednesday that Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) will allow "federal assistance" to help quell the violence.
What he's saying: "You know, I spoke to Jacob's mom and dad, sister and other members of the family just a little bit earlier, and I told them justice must and will be done. You know our hearts are with his family, especially his children," Biden said in a video posted to Twitter.
- "Put yourself in the shoes of every Black father and Black mother in this country and ask, 'Is this what we want America to be? Is this the country we should be?'"
- "But burning down communities is not protest, it's needless violence — violence that endangers lives, violence that guts businesses and shutters businesses that serve the community. That's wrong."
- "In the midst of this pain, the wisest words that I've heard spoken so far have come from Julia Jackson, Jacob's mother. She looked at the damage done in her community and she said this, 'This doesn't reflect my son, or my family.'"
"What happened there is so tragic and represents the two systems of justice in America," Harris added during a virtual event in Michigan.
The state of play: The Blake family's attorney Ben Crump told a news briefing on Wednesday that it's "going to take a miracle" for him to walk ever again and that Blake was "struggling to sustain his life."