WATCH: Portland Mayor Refuses Federal Help, Then Blames Riots On Trump (VIDEO)
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler stated, “We’ve read [Trump’s] tweets slamming private citizens to the point of receiving death threats, and we’ve listened to your attacks on immigrants. We’ve listened to you label Mexicans rapists. We’ve heard you say that John McCain wasn’t a hero because he was a prisoner of war. And now you’re attacking Democratic mayors and the very institutions of democracy that have served this nation well since its founding. Do you seriously wonder, Mr. President, why this is the first time in decades that America has seen this level of violence? It’s you who have created the hate and the division. It’s you who have not found a way to say the names of black people killed by police officers, even as people in law enforcement have. And it’s you who claimed that white supremacists are good people.”
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The mayor continued, “Your campaign of fear is as anti-democratic as anything you’ve done to create hate and vitriol in our beautiful country. You’ve tried to divide us more than any other figure in modern history. And now you want me to stop the violence that you helped create. What America needs is for you to be stopped so that we can come back together as one America, while recognizing that we must demand that all people black, brown, white, every color from every political persuasion, pull together and hold all people accountable in stopping racism and violence. And we together are peaceful again under new leadership that reflects who we really are. We, the people of this great nation. President Trump, you bring no peace. You bring no respect to our democracy. You, Mr. President, need to do your job as the leader of this nation. And I, Mr. President, will do my job as the mayor of this city.”
Portland, Oregon Mayor Ted Wheeler blamed President Trump for the violent riots after refusing federal help to stop them. He also stated that he does not know how to prevent them.
Mayor Wheeler stated, “As you know, on two prior occasions, I have asked the governor for the National Guard. She declined in those two circumstances. But we are in communication now. It is my belief that between PPD, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office and the state police, we have been successfully throughout this in terms of operations when we’re combined and when we’re collaborating. And I’m told by our law enforcement professionals that that is sufficient. Well, I’m not sure how you specifically, operationally can prevent this.”
Wheeler published a letter declining federal aid ‘on behalf of the City of Portland” citing that helping is Trump’s ‘ticket to reelection’.
Press Secretary McEnany took note of Wheeler’s slow response time stating, “At 18 days ago, Mayor Ted Wheeler tweeted, ‘What I saw last night in Portland was powerful in many ways. I listened, heard, and stood with protesters and I saw what it means when the federal government unleashes paramilitary forces against its own people.’ He, in fact, called our federal agents paramilitary forces. And around the same time, our federal officers were facing rioters barricading officers inside the courthouse, trapping officers inside, launching of commercial-grade fireworks. A federal agent’s hand was impaled by planted nails. Three officers were likely were, at least temporarily, I should say, blinded when a laser was put in their eyes. This has been an ongoing tactic by the rioters. That was 18 days ago when Mayor Wheeler stood with the rioters and against the, quote, ‘paramilitary forces’.”
The press secretary continued, “But just four days ago, it appears Mayor Wheeler had a change of heart as local officers took over the situation in Portland. And he now, I guess, this is what he believes now, quote, ‘When you commit arson with an accelerant in an attempt to burn down a building that is occupy occupied by people who you have intentionally trapped inside, you are not demonstrating. You are attempting to commit murder.’ He could not be more right about that. It is a drastic change. It took him 73 days, I suppose, to come up with that realization.”
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