Wednesday on CNN’s “Newsroom,” former Gov. John Kasich (D-OH) called on Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden to “deeply” condemn the violent protests in Kenosha, WI, in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
When asked what Democrats are obligated to do about the violence, Kasich said, “I think it is absolutely imperative for Joe Biden— I have no doubt he feels this in his heart that protests are something we need. It’s the street organizers that rises and brings change from the bottom up, Martin Luther King, John Lewis, who we just celebrated his life and honored his death. So when we look at these issues, violence has no place.”
He continued, “Martin Luther King took the beatings, the gassings, the jailings, and said, ‘We will not respond with violence.’ I believe that it is absolutely essential for the Democrats to say, ‘While we support protesters, this violence is abhorrent and actually sets back the ability to get change.’ Now we don’t know the full story in Wisconsin, there’s this news that’s coming out about perhaps a vigilante, and what we know is that there are people who show up at these protests who are there to design to disrupt and give everybody a bad name, but they have to be called out.”
He added, “Joe Biden needs to be very, very strong on the fact that while protesters are okay — they’re a positive thing, they’re America — this violence needs to be deeply condemned and deeply condemned now. Sooner rather than later, in my opinion. This is a terrible thing that’s happening in our country, and there’s no excuse and no reason for anybody to look the other way when it comes to these violent acts, and I just hold up somebody like Martin Luther King who said, ‘If you return violence for violence, you lose,’ and I agree with him.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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