President Trump Considering Sending Federal Resources To Portland – KXL

President Trump says he’s considering sending federal resources to increase safety in Portland. The president said residents are living in hell.

The president said images that he saw of protests there this week were “unbelievable” and he’s going to look at sending federal resources there.

He suggested without evidence that the protesters were “paid” and said, “When we go there, if we go to Portland, we’re going to wipe them out. They’re going to be gone,” he said.

Trump has already said he’s considering sending National Guard troops to Baltimore, New Orleans and Chicago the same way he has in Washington, D.C., as part of a crime and immigration crackdown.

Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said if the President sends troops, he’ll take the action to court.

Portland Mayor Keith Wilson says:

“Like other mayors across the country, I have not asked for – and do not need – federal intervention. We are proud that Portland police have successfully protected freedom of expression while addressing occasional violence and property destruction that takes place during protests at the ICE facility in Portland. We anticipate that the site, and the half-block surrounding it, will continue to be a focus of protests. Portland will continue to rise to the moment as a proud sanctuary city, taking legal action to stand up for our community and our rights.”

Portland City Councilor Candace Avalos (District 1) says:

“Trump is using the same old tired playbook from 2020. We saw what happens when unidentified federal agents flood our streets. It causes harm, erodes public trust, and threatens marginalized communities. Under federal law, the National Guard can’t be used for domestic policing without extraordinary circumstances, and a federal judge just ruled that Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in L.A. was illegal. Trump is trying to divert attention from the fact that his dangerous mass deportation agenda is deeply unpopular. Portlanders and Americans are seeing the stories of families ripped apart, immigrants detained in horrific conditions, and ICE violently harassing people who are just trying to live their lives. They see through the lies and propaganda that Trump and his cronies want you to believe. I am not going to back down because the East Portlanders I represent are counting on me and other Oregon officials to protect our communities. When Trump sent federal agents to our city in 2020, he and his administration ultimately left as the losers. We’re not going to let him win this time either.”

Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega-Pederson also released a statement:

“We’ve seen this before. President Trump wasting your tax dollars to attack cities who value diversity and stand up for our immigrant and refugee neighbors. It’s uncalled for and unnecessary. Recent reports show that Portland has seen a rapid decline in homicides and other violent crime this year, and crime has been trending downward overall for multiple years. If the President truly wanted to help Portland and Multnomah County, he would reverse his callous cuts to public health and safety net services like Medicaid — decisions that harm people in red and blue states alike. The President’s policies are supercharging an affordability crisis that is hitting us hard locally, raising the cost of food, housing and medicine for thousands of our residents. Multnomah County is a beautiful and proud place. We welcome genuine cooperation that would improve the lives of hard-working County residents, protect our Constitutional rights and bring us together to help our community thrive. But if the best President Trump has to offer is more harm and chaos, then we don’t want or need his intervention here.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.