President Donald Trump said during a press conference late on Friday that the administration is ready to send in the National Guard to Portland to stop attacks by radical activists against law enforcement officials.
Trump’s remarks come as Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, a Democrat, finally condemned the violence late this week, saying that those who were attempting to light the police precinct on fire were “attempting to commit murder.” Wheeler pleaded with people to not show up because he claimed that they were going to be used in Trump campaign commercials and that they were helping the president win re-election.
“That’s come a long way, he’s come a long way when he made that statement,” Trump said in reference to Wheeler. “What you’re seeing in Portland is the radical Left’s agenda in action. Portland is their roadmap for America. If the radical Left gets in, and they treat Joe Biden as a puppet, he’s merely a puppet. But if the radical Left gets in, they look at Portland as a thing that they want, that’s what they want.”
“I want to thank Homeland Security. They’ve done a fantastic job,” Trump continued. “We had our people go in. They stopped any intrusion into the courthouse, and the courthouse was saved, and other federal buildings were saved. And we would like to be asked by the mayor or the governor, we will go in and stop the problems in Portland in 24 hours just like we did in Minneapolis after they really hurt that city. But the National Guard went [in] and did a phenomenal job. It was over in three hours. After watching six days of horror, it ended in three hours. You all saw the scene of them walking right down the street. It was actually an unfortunate view, but an incredible view of how to do things.”
“So we would be able to solve the Portland situation immediately,” Trump added. “But we are supposed to be asked. If we’re not asked, and if it continues, we’ll have to make a decision. But it’s a very easy thing for us to do. We could stop it very quickly. It’s been going on now for 76 days, but our buildings are very secure.”
Video and transcript below:
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: On Portland, finally, I’d like to address that situation. Portland is a disaster. It’s been a disaster for many, many years. Brave federal law enforcement officers single-handedly… The officers, they single-handedly saved the federal courthouse in Portland from lawless rioters and agitators and anarchists, and that’s what they are. When you find Molotov cocktails in somebody’s knapsack and they say, “No, I’m just here to have a good time.” These are really sick, disturbed people.
The disgraced of mayor of the city has ordered the police to stand down in the face of rioters, leaving his citizens at the mercy of this mob. He was at the mercy of the mob too. If you saw him go out there the other day, it was terrible. He went out there and they wanted to rip him apart. But fortunately he had five people with him, called security. Mayor Wheeler has abdicated his duty and surrendered his city to the mob. As a result, the mob descended upon a police precinct and tried to burn it down, tear it down, rip it down – an act of attempted murder. Left wing violent extremism poses an increasing threat to our country, and we stop it. You have no idea how much we stop, but it’s an ideology we have to stop.
When you commit arson, this is a quote from the mayor, he’s come a long way. He just made this quote, “When you commit arson with an accelerant in the attempt to burn down a building that is occupied by people who have intentionally been trapped inside, you’re not a demonstrator or you’re not demonstrating” said Mayor [Wheeler], “You are attempting to commit murder.” That’s come a long way, he’s come a long way when he made that statement.
What you’re seeing in Portland is the radical Left’s agenda in action. Portland is their roadmap for America. If the radical Left gets in, and they treat Joe Biden as a puppet, he’s merely a puppet. But if the radical Left gets in, they look at Portland as a thing that they want, that’s what they want. Why? Who knows? [Doesn’t] matter. It’s a different thinking, but it’s a mess.
And I want to thank Homeland Security. They’ve done a fantastic job. We had our people go in. They stopped any intrusion into the courthouse, and the courthouse was saved, and other federal buildings were saved. And we would like to be asked by the mayor or the governor, we will go in and stop the problems in Portland in 24 hours just like we did in Minneapolis after they really hurt that city. But the National Guard went [in] and did a phenomenal job. It was over in three hours. After watching six days of horror, it ended in three hours. You all saw the scene of them walking right down the street. It was actually an unfortunate view, but an incredible view of how to do things. So we would be able to solve the Portland situation immediately. But we are supposed to be asked. If we’re not asked, and if it continues, we’ll have to make a decision. But it’s a very easy thing for us to do. We could stop it very quickly. It’s been going on now for 76 days, but our buildings are very secure.
If the Democrats controlled in Washington, the Democrats control of Washington, they’d pass with all of the things they do, legislation gutting every single police department in America. They truly do, many of these people want to defund the police department. At a minimum, they’re going to stop money from going to the police department. But in many cases, they actually want to defund completely the police department. No city, no town, and no suburb would be safe. Your suburbs would be a disaster. Your cities, your towns would be a disaster. They want every city to be a Portland or to be a Chicago, which is totally out of control, and we’re waiting for the mayor. We’ve sent people in to help them from an intelligence standpoint, but we’re waiting for them to call, the governor, the mayor.
We could do a very good job in Chicago. Nobody’s ever seen anything like that, this country. And yet nationwide, numbers are good despite the Chicagos and Portlands and frankly, the New Yorks, when you look at what’s happened in New York. 348% increase in the last number of months, nobody’s seen anything like that, so sad. To me it’s so sad because I love New York. And it’s so sad, and all it is, is horrible, horrible, incompetent management by politicians that truly don’t know what they’re doing. So just like we saved the courthouse, we will save the United States of America. And a vast majority of people agree with me, a vast majority, most people. They don’t speak up as much as they could, but we know they’re there and everybody else knows they’re there, too.