We’ve done a great job in Portland. Portland was totally out of control, and they went in and, I guess, we have many people right now in jail. And we very much quelled it. And if it starts again, we’ll quell it again very easily. It’s not hard to do if you know what you’re doing.
Is this what Trump meant when he said "we've done a great job in Portland"?
Federal law enforcement officers have been using unmarked vehicles to drive around downtown Portland and detain protesters since at least July 14. Personal accounts and multiple videos posted online show the officers driving up to people, detaining individuals with no explanation of why they are being arrested, and driving off.
The tactic appears to be another escalation in federal force deployed on Portland city streets, as federal officials and President Donald Trump have said they plan to “quell” nightly protests outside the federal courthouse and Multnomah County Justice Center that have lasted for more than six weeks.
OPB goes on to note that many who have been arrested aren't near federal property much less engaging in any criminal activity.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler wants federal troops out of the city and so does Oregon Governor Kate Brown. Billy Williams, the U.S. Attorney for Oregon wants an investigation into the arrests which have evidently been conducted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Last I checked, Oregon doesn't border Canada nor Mexico. But Acting Department of Homeland Security Chief Chad Wolf believes otherwise.
Of course, if Wolf leaves Portland who can say he won't make his way to Minneapolis or New York with his stormtroopers in tow and pull the same shenanigans?
Perhaps this garbage would have worked with voters in 1968. But in the midst of a pandemic, mass unemployment and racial injustice,Trump's intervention isn't restoring order but reinforcing chaos. And voters don't like chaos. Not any more.
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