Trump pushes 'law and order' amid violence
Two protesters carry on a casual conversation while one is arrested by a Portland police officer on Sunday in Portland, Oregon. City leaders asked for calm and time to conduct an investigation after a man was shot and killed near a pro-Trump rally.
US President Donald Trump and his Democratic antagonist Joe Biden traded pre-election barbs on Sunday as violent clashes continued to roil the US city of Portland following the fatal shooting of a protester.
While the US leader tried to characterize Biden as weak on crime, Biden accused Trump of fanning the flames of violence in a polarized and tense nation.
Saturday’s shooting during a pro-Trump rally in the Oregon city followed a week of countrywide protests over the police shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin, of African American Jacob Blake.
The violence in Portland erupted during a rally involving hundreds of vehicles “caravaning throughout downtown Portland,” police said. OregonLive reported “clashes” and “tense moments” between demonstrators and counter-protesters.
Photographs from the scene showed the dead man wearing a hat with a logo for “Patriot Prayer,” described by local media as a far-right group at the center of multiple Portland demonstrations that have ended in violence.
By 10pm on Sunday, about 100 to 150 anti-racism protesters had gathered outside a police building to the east of the city center.
Police declared the gathering illegal and in a tweet ordered people to leave the scene, warning of arrests and the use of tear gas.
Videos posted online showed about 20 officers rushing from the building to clear the area, and arresting a handful of protesters.
The clashes followed unrest in the city of Kenosha in Wisconsin, where prosecutors accused 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse of shooting dead two men and wounding another who were protesting against Blake’s shooting.
Trump is due to travel today to the city to meet law enforcement officials and view damage from unrest triggered by Blake’s shooting last weekend.
State governor Tony Evers sent the president a letter asking him to reconsider the visit as it “will only hinder our healing,” according to US media reports.
Violence linked with anti-racism demonstrations has become a major issue in the campaign for November’s presidential election, with Trump presenting himself as the “law-and-order” choice for American people and arguing that a Biden presidency would allow left-wing mob rule.
Biden condemned the violence and argued that Trump had played a role in spurring the clashes.
“He is recklessly encouraging violence,” Biden said. “He may believe tweeting about ‘law and order’ makes him strong, but his failure to call on his supporters to stop seeking conflict shows just how weak he is.”
Trump spent Sunday morning tweeting and retweeting dozens of posts purporting to show violence in Democratic-run cities, and especially Portland. The president has repeatedly threatened to send federal government forces into the city if Mayor Ted Wheeler does not crack down.
He attacked Wheeler, a Democrat, for refusing help from the national guard, which he said “could solve these problems in less than 1 hour.”
“Wheeler is incompetent, much like Sleepy Joe Biden,” Trump tweeted. “This is not what our great Country wants. They want Safety & Security, and do NOT want to Defund our Police!”
