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US Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday cast the re-election of President Donald Trump as critical to preserving law and order and economic viability, warning Democratic rival Joe Biden was a stalking horse for the radical left.
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Amid widening protests over the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Wisconsin, Pence and other Republicans at their national convention described the Nov. 3 election between Trump and Biden as a choice between law-and-order and lawlessness.
“The hard truth is you wont be safe in Joe Bidens America,” Pence said in a speech that capped the conventions third night.
Accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, Trump joined Pence on stage after the speech as the crowd chanted: “Four more years.”
Police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, shot Blake, 29, multiple times in the back at close range on Sunday, reigniting protests against racism and police brutality that erupted across the United States earlier in the year.
During a third night of unrest on Tuesday, three people were shot, two fatally. A teenager was arrested on homicide charges. The states lieutenant governor said he was apparently a militia member who sought to kill innocent protesters.
In his speech Pence said: “Let me be clear: the violence must stop – whether in Minneapolis, Portland or Kenosha. Too many heroes have died defending our freedom to see Americans strike each other down. We will have law and order on the streets of this country for every American of every race and creed and color.”
Biden said earlier that he had spoken with Blakes family and, like the family, called for an end to the violence. But, unlike Trump who has yet to publicly comment on the police shooting, Biden called for justice and defended the right to protest.
“Protesting brutality is a right and absolutely necessary, but burning down communities is not protest. Its needless violence,” Biden said in a video posted by his campaign.
Once again, a Black man — Jacob Blake — was shot by the police. In front of his children. It makes me sick.
Is this the country we want to be?
Needless violence wont heal us. We need to end the violence — and peacefully come together to demand justice. pic.twitter.com/WdNqrxA3PK
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) August 26, 2020
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump said he would send federal law enforcement to Kenosha by agreement with the states governor while the US Department of Justice said a federal civil rights investigation had been opened into the shooting.
Democrats call it a diversion
Democrats have characterized Trumps law-and-order focus as a diversion from what they say is the presidents mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 178,000 Americans and cost the jobs of millions of people.
Trump has struggled to win back women voters alienated by his combative style, opinion polls show, and some speakers sought to highlight his work to elevate women — part of an effort during the convention to present a softer view of Trump that is often belied by his own actions and words.
Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, who announced earlier this week she would step down at the end of the month, said Trump had put women in powerful positions and given her an influential role.
“A woman in a leadership role can still seem novel. Not so for President Trump. For decades, he has elevated women to senior positions in business and in government. He confides in and consults us, respects our opinions, and insists that we are on equal footing with the men,” Conway said.
Pence spoke at the Fort McHenry National Monument in Baltimore, Maryland — a federal facility that is the site of the battle during the War of 1812 that inspired Francis Scott Key to write Read More – Source
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