Biden: Trump sees Wisconsin unrest as 'political benefit'

by WILL WEISSERT, The Associated Press

Thu, August 27th 2020, 5:34 PM UTC

Police stop a car near where protesters gather for a fourth night to demonstrate against the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha late Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Oscar Walton speaks to fellow protesters while marching against the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

A protester tosses an object toward police during clashes outside the Kenosha County Courthouse late Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020, in Kenosha, Wis. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

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Police stop a car near where protesters gather for a fourth night to demonstrate against the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha late Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden said Thursday that President Donald Trump sees unrest in Wisconsin as "a political benefit" and Biden said he would be willing to travel to the state if it would not be a distraction for law enforcement.

The Democratic presidential nominee, during an appearance on MSNBC, denounced violence but said Trump was "pouring gasoline on the racial flames" and making things worse.

Biden made his critique as protests continued in Kenosha, Wisconsin, after Jacob Blake, a Black man, was shot seven times by police and a 17-year-old gunman apparently killed two people in clashes between vigilante militias and protesters.

"I think he views it as a political benefit," Biden said about Trump and the unrest.

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Biden also said that, if he were president, he would travel to Wisconsin personally and that he had considered going anyway, but that he does not "want to be part of the problem."

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