When President Donald Trump visited Kenosha, Wisconsin, tuesday for the damage caused by violent protests, at least the owner of a local store said he had no interest in meeting with the president.
“I said no, thank you,” Paul Willette told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.Willette is co-owner of Rode’s Camera Shop, which opened more than a hundred years ago before it was destroyed in a chimney caused by rioters.anything to do with President Trump.”
“If I were any other president, I would, but not this one.I can’t begin to describe my frustration with him.I refused to come there. I didn’t need to be a part of this fiasco.”
Rode’s camera store opened in 1911 and life workers Willette and Tom Gram bought the store from their employer, John Rode, in 2011.
Gram, who worked at the store for more than 40 years before buying it, told the WTMJ that the White House called him Monday to see if he signed up for the president to talk about the damage with his store.refused.
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“I think everything he does becomes a circus and I didn’t need to get involved,” Gram told the Milwaukee station.
Violent protests broke out in Kenosha after a policeman shot and killed Jacob Blake, a black man, in the back in August, leaving him paralyzed.
Grandma was surprised to see on television that Trump joined through Rode, the former store owner, who still owns the property.Rode was very supporting the president.
“John Rode III, owner of Rode’s Camera Shop,” Trump said, introducing the former owner at a panel discussion in Kenosha. “We’re coming to you. It’s a very, very complete reconstruction that we’re talking about there.”
Trump said the company could have been saved if Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers had called the National Guard earlier, repeating a claim in which he made his stopover in the city.
But it was Evers who activated the State National Guard on August 24, the same day Rode’s camera store caught fire and a day after Blake fired.Three days later, Evers sought help from Arizona, Michigan, and Alabama, who sent Guard troops.
Early Tuesday, Trump and Rode stood in front of a burnt-out storefront, which, according to the Sentinel Journal, B
“This has been there for 109 years. Almost the oldest in the country, do what you do, ” said Trump to Rode.
“I just appreciate the scale of President Trump today; everyone here does it,” Rode said. “We are very grateful to have invited the federal troops, because once they got us here, things calmed down a bit. And the town police.” , the sheriff and the chimney branch are great. They worked harder than you can believe, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. “
Trump claimed that if it had been called federal “a day earlier, we would have stored his store.”
“Let’s paint with you. We’ll help you,” Trump told Rode.”We’ll help you rebuild. It’s a wonderful area. It’s a wonderful condition.That’s never going to happen. Something like this will never happen.” You have to call early.”
In addition to Rode, Trump joined the circular table through Scott and Linda Carpenter, owners of B
Like Rode, Warner congratulated the president and presented him with “a thank you for saving our city.”
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Gram told WTMJ that he was disappointed to see Rode’s perspectives portrayed as those of the existing property.
He said Trump will have to “combine this country instead of dividing it.”
“I think there are a lot of other smart people on this network and saying that only law enforcement is the right ones is not the message we want to hear now,” Gram said.
After the destruction of the store, Gram and Willette told Kenosha News that they had been devastated by the loss of the business.
“It’s just a building, but people’s memories were inside.
“A woman had just arrived on Monday and brought an image of her grandparents to school number one, in the absence of restoration.I left it on my desk,” he added. Now it’s all gone.Our consumers have lost the circle of family memories.”
“We protest,” Gram told Kenosha News, “but why destroy those companies?”
Contribution: Courtney Subramanian and David Jackson
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