Democrats say Trump visit may worsen protests in Wisconsin city

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump should not visit Kenosha, Wisconsin, the city where protests erupted last week after a Black man was shot in the back by a white police officer, the state's Democratic lieutenant governor said on Sunday.

The Republican president will visit the Midwestern city on Tuesday, the White House said late on Saturday, raising concerns among Democrats that this may worsen the strife.

"They centered an entire convention around creating more animosity and creating more division around what's going on in Kenosha," Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes told CNN, referring to last week's Republican National Convention.

"So I don't know how, given any of the previous statements that the president made, that he intends to come here to be helpful, and we absolutely don't need that right now," he added.

The Aug 22 shooting of Jacob Blake in front of three of his children turned Kenosha, a mostly white city south of Milwaukee, into the latest flashpoint in a summer of US demonstrations against police brutality and racism.

Critics accuse Trump, who faces Democratic former vice president Joe Biden in the Nov 3 presidential election, of seeking to exacerbate violence with incendiary rhetoric.

Republicans deny this, saying Trump wants to restore law and order, and accusing Democratic mayors and state governors of losing control of cities rocked by demonstrations that have seen outbreaks of violence, arson and vandalism.

Reuters