Gov. Tony Evers called GOP gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels a liar for suggesting the Dem guv failed to provide support to Kenosha amid protests and riots in the summer of 2020.
“That’s the bottom line, it’s a lie,” Evers said Tuesday during Milwaukee event to announce a $600 million tax-cut plan while Michels visited Kenosha during the two-year anniversary of the unrest alongside GOP AG hopeful Eric Toney and local police.
Michels ahead of the events released a video on Twitter in which Evers says he “would not change anything” he did in response to violence and looting in Kenosha after Jacob Blake Jr., a Black man from Kenosha, was shot by a white Kenosha police officer. Blake, who survived and is now paralyzed, was shot two years ago today. That was less than three months after George Floyd, a Black man from Minnesota, was killed by a Minneapolis police officer, sparking nationwide protests and unrest.
The construction exec in his tweet of the video blasted Evers.
“From Covid to Kenosha, Tony Evers has failed us,” Michels said. “His instincts are terrible. His policies are even worse.”
Evers in Milwaukee fired back, calling Michels’ statements “stupid.”
“I did everything I was asked to do by the leaders in Kenosha; everything in a timely fashion,” the guv said. “So if he wants to run his campaign on lies, that’s not a good way to get elected. That’s a stupid thing.”
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson in a statement also slammed Evers’ response, pointing out he initially refused former President Donald Trump’s offer to provide assistance from the Department of Homeland Security.
“The Kenosha riots should have ended after one night, but they didn’t because Gov. Evers and Lt. Gov. Barnes released incendiary statements before they had all the facts,” the Oshkosh Republican said. “They incited the rioters and refused to provide the type of manpower to quell the rioting.”
Evers authorized 125 National Guard troops the day after the shooting and doubled it to 250 the next day, Tuesday Aug. 25. According to the guv’s office, Evers spoke with Donald Trump on the afternoon of Aug. 25 and declined the former president’s offer to send federal agents from Homeland Security.
Kyle Rittenhouse shot three people, killing two of them, that night. The next day, Evers increased the number of National Guard troops to 500 and accepted the Trump administration’s offer to provide additional FBI and U.S. Marshal support, according to Evers’ office.
Critics have contended the response was inadequate.
See the Michels tweet:
https://twitter.com/michelsforgov/status/1561848954987462656
