Saturday, 29 August 2020_Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler has blasted US President Donald Trump for his suggestion of sending the National Guard to the city to deal with protests there, calling on the president to “stay away, please.”
Trump has repeatedly called on Portland to accept federal assistance following three months of protests against police brutality and racial injustice that were sparked by the killing of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis in May.
“Yet again, you said you offered to aid Portland by sending in federal law enforcement to our city. On behalf of the City of Portland: No thanks,” Wheeler wrote in a letter to President Trump on Friday.
“We don’t need your politics of division and demagoguery. Portlanders are onto you. We have already seen your reckless disregard for human life in your bumbling response to the COVID pandemic. And we know you’ve reached the conclusion that images of violence or vandalism are your only ticket to reelection,” he added.
Protests across the US have erupted again in recent days after the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, this week. Blake was shot multiple times in the back as his children looked on. His family said he is paralyzed from the waist down. Police also handcuffed him in hospital.
The brutal shooting of the African-American man has added to the nationwide anger across the US over racism and police brutality.
Most of the protests in Portland have remained peaceful, though some demonstrations early on devolved into riots, leading to threats from Trump to send the National Guard to restore order.
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