Kenosha Mayor: ‘The National Guard Has Been Extremely Helpful’

On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “OutFront,” Kenosha, WI Mayor John Antaramian (D) stated that the National Guard “has been extremely helpful” in keeping order in the city. Although, he denied that President Donald Trump’s urging had anything to do with deploying the Guard and that Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) “immediately dealt with” requests to bring the Guard in.

Antaramian said that he can’t give any details about what Trump’s visit will entail, but said, “I will tell you, though, that the National Guard has been extremely helpful, and we feel comfortable that we can keep the president safe and keep the public safe. Mostly, we need to try to make sure that there’s calm in the community, and that is what we are hoping to maintain.”

He later stated that “the city made the request for the National Guard to come in. The governor immediately dealt with it, and within 12 hours after the request had been done, the Guard was in Kenosha.” And “The governor actually had implemented the Guard on Sunday or Monday morning early to have the Guard come in. And so, that was long before any discussions with the president.”

Antaramian also said that he doesn’t want either Trump or 2020 Democratic presidential nominee former Vice President Joe Biden to come to the city this week, and would prefer that they wait until next week to visit.

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett