Donald Trump Issues Inaccurate Claim About National Guard Forces Are Deployed in Portland
Ex-President Donald Trump once again shared false information concerning Portland, Oregon via social platforms on Wednesday, stating that military troops he activated following a small protest outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility have been deployed and started bringing back “LAW AND ORDER”.
Yet, reports from Portland’s NBC affiliate indicated that none of the National Guard were yet in place near the ICE building where protesters have been protesting opposing immigration sweeps for months.
Oregon’s National Guard had no immediate comment when asked, but Commander Russell Gibson told state lawmakers on Tuesday how the 200 troops who have been called up would need another four to seven days for preparation prior to deployment, probably next week.
Gibson said how the troops, from two areas south from the city, have been either trained in military policing or in crowd control.
Oregon’s governor stated publicly, “The president’s unlawful federalization of personnel from the state guard may cost the public up to $10m, according to the Oregon Military Department.”
This estimate covers pay, supplies, meals, accommodation and additional expenses linked to the assignment of 200 troops in Portland for 60 days.
“Our country and our state should be focused on solving real problems,” the governor remarked. “Spending millions on imaginary crises is disrespectful to citizens facing the cost of living, healthcare costs, safety in their neighborhoods and more. Not only is this an abuse of power, it is a dereliction of the president’s duty to solve real problems.”
Over the weekend, the state’s top lawyer Dan Rayfield filed a lawsuit in federal court to stop the troop assignment, arguing how the president’s description of the peaceful city as “war ravaged” is completely false.
The attorney general also argued how the president overstepped his powers by federalizing of the guard away from the state’s governor. A court session on the temporary order for a temporary restraining order is set this Friday.
During comments to military leaders elsewhere, the president reiterated his false claim how Portland “looks like a conflict area”, and described a phone call with the state’s governor over the weekend. During it, he stated, he told Kotek how what he viewed on TV conflicted with her direct report of the city’s calm and that police could handle a small protest limited to one area.
“‘Well, unless they’re playing false tapes, this look[s] like world war two,’” Trump said he told Kotek. “‘Your city is on fire.’”
It is unclear what, exactly Trump has been watching on television to give him the false impression that the city, currently a peaceful, vibrant city, looks like a battlefield, but his preferred network, Fox News, did broadcast a segment three weeks ago where incorrectly dated video from Portland protests in 2020 was shown to illustrate the current anti-ICE protest.
Recently, the network has relied heavily in its coverage of Portland on reports from journalists from biased sources, including a conservative group, that routinely exaggerate the scale of unrest at leftwing protests.
Online, Portlanders have continued to mock Trump’s false claims regarding Portland, by posting images of themselves enjoying life in the city alongside Trump’s audio saying, earlier this month, that it is “like being in hell”.
Instead of reviewing his impression of what conditions in Portland are actually like, from responses from elected officials and city residents, on Wednesday, Trump suggested on his social media platform how Oregon’s governor “must be living in a ‘Dream World’”.