EXCLUSIVE: Retired schoolteacher, 60, comes decked out in buttons, blue hair and a Biden-Harris sign to serve as one woman cheering squad for Joe as he arrives in Kenosha - two days after Trump drew a crowd of hundreds
A 60-year-old retired schoolteacher showed up to Kenosha's Civic Center Park on Thursday to serve as a one woman cheering squad for Joe Biden as he arrived in town - two days after President Trump's visit drew hundreds of supporters and protesters to the same downtown park.
'Maybe I'm in the wrong spot, I don't know,' Michelle Stauder told DailyMail.com just before a few Biden supporters walked over to join her. 'I hope to get it started.'
She waved a Biden-Harris sign and sported a red, white and blue cowboy hat, blue hair, flags and Joe buttons she crafted for the occasion, saying: 'I made my signs and buttons, I'm really excited.'
The former educator stood by herself just down the street from where 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, armed with a semi-automatic rifle, shot and killed two protesters and injured a third during a period of civil unrest after Jacob Blake was shot seven times in the back by a police officer.
Biden's welcoming committee was noticeably smaller than the hundreds of supporters and protesters that Trump drew when he visited the violence-ravaged town on Tuesday.
Michelle Stauder, 60, a retired schoolteacher, served as a one woman cheering squad for Joe Biden as he arrived in Kenosha on Thursday
Biden and his wife Jill met with Jacob Blake's family members as soon as they were on the ground in Wisconsin, holding the meeting at a building at Milwaukee's General Mitchell International Airport
Biden's welcoming committee was noticeably smaller than the hundreds of supporters and protesters Trump drew when he visited the violence-ravaged town on Tuesday (pictured)
'Maybe Trump gets more people out for action and disruption,' Stauder said. 'I guess I'd rather have it this way,' peaceful. I'm glad he's coming here to talk to people and promote peace.' Pictured: Trump supporters on Tuesday in Kenosha
'Maybe Trump gets more people out for action and disruption,' Stauder said.
'I guess I'd rather have it this way,' peaceful,' she continued. 'I'm glad he's coming here to talk to people and promote peace.'
Stauder added: 'I just want to support Joe and let him know he's doing the right thing - telling people to wear masks and that it's not right to shoot people and settle things with violence. It's the opposite of Trump.'
Cheryl Strockis, 53, an Alabama resident in town visiting family, soon joined Stauder, sans sign.
'I'd like to see him and show him my support and wave,' Strockis said.
'I'm not disappointed there's no crowd. Biden's side is peaceful.'
She explained she was messaging her out of town friends to tell them about the event.
'They know I'm down here In Civic Center Park basically alone and they're like, 'be careful',' she said. 'I'm good. I'm a big girl.'
Biden and his wife Jill met with Blake's family members as soon as they were on the ground in Wisconsin, holding the meeting at a building at Milwaukee's General Mitchell International Airport.
Strauder waved a Biden-Harris sign and sported a red, white and blue cowboy hat, blue hair, flags and Joe buttons she crafted for the occasion, saying: 'I made my signs and buttons, I'm really excited'
The city of Kenosha is in a period of civil unrest after Jacob Blake (pictured) was shot seven times in the back by a police officer in front of three of his young children
The former educator stood by herself just down the street from where 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse (pictured), armed with a semi-automatic rifle, shot and killed two protesters and injured a third
Before meeting with Blake's family, Biden was caught shaking hands with aide Brian McPartlin as he got off the private plane, which has been a no-no in the coronavirus era.
Reporters were kept outside the meeting, but the campaign said the Democratic nominee and his wife would meet with Blake's father, Jacob Blake Sr., his sisters Letetra Widman and Zietha Blake, his brother Myron Jackson, and lawyers Patrick Salvi Sr. and B'Ivory LaMarr.
The shooting victim's mother Julia Jackson and attorney Ben Crump, would join the meeting by phone.
The Bidens then headed to Kenosha, Wisconsin where they are slated to hold a 'healing' town hall.
Biden's trip to Wisconsin marks the first time a Democratic presidential candidate has gone to the state since the 2012 cycle.
Biden's Wisconsin visit comes two days after Trump visited Kenosha, during which he called rioters 'domestic terrorists' and praised police, who he argued shouldn't be demonized for 'choking.'
President Donald Trump visited Kenosha on Tuesday after Democratic leaders told him not to come. He toured wreckage from the riots that broke out after Blake's shooting and held a roundtable event with law enforcement and other community leaders
Trump supporters and Trump protesters watch as the motorcade carrying President Donald Trump passes by on September 1, 2020 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Kenosha is recovering from several days of unrest and demonstrations following the shooting of Jacob Blake
Trump did not meet with members of Blake's family, nor did he say Blake's name during his remarks.
On the ground in Kenosha, the president dismissed the idea that most of the Black Lives Matter demonstrations that occurred after the Memorial Day death of George Floyd - and more recently the shooting of Blake - have been peaceful.
'I keep hearing about peaceful protests ... and then I come to an area like this and the town is burned down,' Trump said. 'By and large this is not peaceful protesting,' he repeated later.
State and local officials, including Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, and Kenosha's Mayor John Antaramian, also a Democrat, said they didn't want Trump to come, but the president insisted.
