White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany offered an update on President Donald Trump’s efforts to connect with the family of Jacob Blake, a Black man shot several times by an officer of the Kenosha Police Department.
On Monday morning, McEnany appeared on “Fox & Friends” where she was asked about the White House’s efforts to contact the Blake family.
According to McEnany, the president still has not spoken with the family.
“We are efforting outreach, have not been able to connect yet. So tomorrow the plan is so far to go and to meet with law enforcement and to look at some of the damage from the riots, but we are holding his family close to our hearts,” McEnany said.
Although McEnany claims outreach efforts have been made, Ben Crump, the attorney representing the Blake family, insists his office has not received any calls from the White House.
During an appearance on MSNBC, Crump was asked about the status of a potential conversation between his client and the president.
He said, “My office has received no calls to set up any kind of meeting.”
On Friday, Jacob Blake Sr. was also asked a similar line of questioning.
During an interview with CNN’s Alisyn Camerota, Blake Sr. reflected on his hour-long conversation with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris as he commended them for their empathy.
When asked at the time about the president, Blake Sr. confirmed he and his family had “not heard from the White House,” as Camerota asked.
At the time Trump had not publicly acknowledged his son, to which Blake Sr. said, “If I have to tell you I want you to do something, and you don’t want to do it. There’s no need for me to mention it because then it’s not coming from your heart.”
McEnany’s remarks come amid ongoing protests and civil unrest over Blake’s shooting.
On Sunday, August 23, Blake was shot in the back seven times while walking away from Kenosha police officers.
Although there were claims that Blake “declared he had a gun in the car and was going to go get it’ and was ‘brandishing’ a knife,” reports now confirm that he did not have a gun and the knife involvement is still ambiguous, according to USA Today.
Footage of the shooting quickly circulated on social media platforms as viewers accused the officer of using excessive and unjustifiable force.
Although Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) and other state officials have urged President Donald Trump to reconsider his visit to Kenosha, White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere released a statement that confirmed the president’s visit is still scheduled for Tuesday.
