PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Mayor Keith Wilson has taken to a global media brand to express his opposition to President Donald Trump’s plans to send the National Guard to Portland.
The city “doesn’t need or want federal troops,” according to the mayor’s letter that was published in TIME on Thursday morning. He stated that few other places have faced the “consequences of a fracturing American consensus as sharply as Portland,” noting how the city’s reputation differs among men and women, left-leaning and right-leaning groups, and national media versus local media.
Wilson’s letter comes on the same day that the Oregon Military Department initially expected the National Guard to arrive in Portland. A spokesperson for the department has since revealed that the arrival of 200 troops is now expected to happen this weekend.
Last weekend was when the president announced he would deploy the troops to the “war-ravaged” Rose City, authorizing them to use “full force, if necessary.”
But the mayor has argued that Trump’s perception of Portland — which, in his own words, is “like living in hell” and “like World War II” — doesn’t match the city “of creativity and natural beauty, of kindness and compassion, and of community principles and purpose” that he sees every day.
“Portland is having a moment of clarity,” Wilson wrote. “We have learned that reforming our public safety system and halving our homicide rate in a single year is not enough to stop troops from coming. We have learned that focusing on our economy and caring for our most vulnerable is not enough to stop troops from coming. Perhaps most troubling of all, we have learned that avoiding national conflict, listening, de-escalating, and focusing foremost on our responsibility to our community has not stopped troops from coming.”
Additionally, he claimed federal leaders have abandoned their “longstanding housing and economic responsibility” in cities nationwide. The mayor also demanded an explanation on how the National Guard’s “full force” will impact Portland, questioning whether he should direct “hospitals and morgues to prepare for the unthinkable.” Read the full letter here.
The federal deployment is estimated to cost taxpayers up to $10 million, according to Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, who previously spoke with Trump in an attempt to prevent troops’ Portland assignment.
Once troops arrive, they will be deployed for 60 days. The National Guard is expected to patrol federal buildings where protests could occur, like Downtown Portland’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.
Jashayla Pettigrew
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