Oregon Gov. Kate Brown claimed that rioters and looters would be held accountable for the destruction in Portland after nearly three months straight of social unrest and violence.
Brown’s claim came along with a plea for people in Portland to come together and “deescalate” the situation. The statement is a marked departure from Brown’s previous efforts to quell unrest by calling for police reform or accusing federal law enforcement officials assigned to Portland of “adding gasoline to the fire.”
“Let me be clear: It’s time for the violence and vandalism to end so Portland can focus on the important work to be done to achieve real change for racial justice. Those who have committed acts of violence will be held accountable,” Brown tweeted on Tuesday. “We must work together to deescalate the potential for confrontation, by continuing to foster community conversations and utilizing trained law enforcement officers to keep the peace and protect free speech, not soldiers.”
We must work together to deescalate the potential for confrontation, by continuing to foster community conversations and utilizing trained law enforcement officers to keep the peace and protect free speech, not soldiers.
— Governor Kate Brown (@OregonGovBrown) August 25, 2020
Her comments were meant to clarify an earlier Twitter interaction with President Donald Trump in which he again called on Brown and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, both Democrats, to allow National Guardsmen to work with local police to quell the violence.
“Oregon isn’t interested in a role in your political theater, @realDonaldTrump. The @OregonGuard is focused on fighting wildfires, distributing PPE & helping with unemployment calls. I’d love to discuss what we actually need: financial resources, N-95 masks & testing supplies,” Brown said.
Brown’s shifting position comes as CNN hosts Andrew Cuomo and Don Lemon observed that the ongoing riots and civil unrest that has ravaged largely Democratic-controlled areas in the country may not play well for the Democratic Party in November.
“The rioting has to stop. It’s showing up in the polling. It’s showing up in focus groups. It is the only thing, it is the only thing right now that is sticking,” Lemon said while Cuomo nodded in agreement during a Tuesday night segment.
It’s unclear what polling specifically Lemon was referring to. The polling company Rasmussen posited that Cuomo and Lemon may be viewing internal media polling numbers that have not been released to the public. A Gallup poll released in early August showed that black Americans overwhelmingly support maintaining or increasing the police presence in their communities. Many of the riots have proceeded protests of people calling to defund and abolish police departments.
As The Daily Wire reports:
A majority of black Americans prefer police spending the same amount of time or more watching over their communities despite claims from a growing movement that police are a threat to minority communities.
Gallup released a poll on Wednesday that found that 81% of black people want police spending the same amount of time or more in their communities. That number compares to 88% for white Americans, 83% for Hispanic Americans, and 72% for Asian Americans. The whole U.S. population measures at 86%.
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The survey also noted that black Americans, more than any other racial group, are more likely to see police in their communities. 73% of black respondents said they see police in their communities sometimes or very often, which is eight points higher than the national average of 65%.