Former Vice President Joe Biden spoke with Jacob Blake on the phone for 15 minutes during a visit to Wisconsin.
Blake is a Black man whose shooting by a white Kenosha, Wisconsin, police officer last week led to days of protests and violence.
Biden says Blake “talked about how nothing was going to defeat him, about how whether he walked again or not, he was not going to give up.”
Blake’s family members have said he is paralyzed from the waist down after being shot seven times. The shooting remains under investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice.
Biden says his wife, Jill, asked to say a prayer and Blake’s mother, who was also joining by phone, said a prayer. Biden says Blake’s mother said: ”I’m praying for Jacob and I’m praying for the policeman as well. I’m praying that things change.’”
Biden met in person with other Blake family members before leading a community discussion in Kenosha. President Donald Trump was in Kenosha earlier this week but did not meet with Blake’s family.
