When asked where he’d send the National Guard next, Trump said he had decided on a city but wasn’t going to say which one — but then immediately brought up Portland.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump raised the possibility of deploying National Guard troops to Portland during a news conference Friday afternoon, declaring that being in the city is “like living in hell,” though he stopped short of directly confirming that a deployment is certain or imminent, appearing to instead imply that it could come after a deployment to another city.
The topic came up in the final minutes of an Oval Office gathering Friday afternoon in which Trump signed an executive order to change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War (the president does not have the authority to unilaterally make such a change, and the text of the order states that Department of War will be a “secondary title” for the agency).
Trump deployed National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., last month due to what he claimed was a “crime emergency,” though actual crime statistics undermine that premise. He’s threatened additional deployments to cities like Chicago, New York and Portland for the same reason — though again, violent crime has been trending sharply downward in Portland.
The Trump administration has appeared to signal in recent days that Chicago would be next, although the timeline is unclear and Trump further muddied the waters on Wednesday when he suggested that he was still deciding between Chicago and New Orleans.
During a media briefing after the signing on Friday, Trump was asked if he’d decided on a specific city.
“I’m not gonna say it now, but yeah, I have,” Trump said. “We’re going to go into another place and straighten it out.”
He then immediately brought up Portland without being prompted.
“But I will say this, I watched today and I didn’t know that was continuing to go on, but Portland is unbelievable,” he said. “What’s going on it Portland, the destruction of the city.”
“Are you going into Portland?” a reporter asked.
“Well I’m gonna look at it now because I didn’t know that was still going on,” Trump replied. “This has been going on for years. So we’ll be able to stop that very easily, we’ll be able to stop, but you know, that was not on my list, Portland, but when I watched television last night, this has been going on: you wouldn’t be standing, if you were the mayor, you wouldn’t be, can you imagine what they’re doing? They’re walking and throwing smoke bombs into store; these are paid terrorists, ok? These are paid agitators, these are profes — I watched that last night. I’m very good at this stuff — these are paid agitators.”
He appeared to be referring to recent protests outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland’s South Waterfront neighborhood, although he didn’t specify. He asserted that the protesters are being paid by “radical left groups,” but offered no evidence for the claim, only asserting that the protesters have “perfect signs that are printed.”
“Those signs aren’t made in basements. They’re made in professional printing offices and they cost a lot of money,” he said.
“These are paid agitators and they’re very dangerous for our country, and when we go there, if we go to Portland, we’re gonna wipe ’em out,” he continued. “They’re gonna be gone and they’re gonna be gone fast — they won’t even stand to fight. They will not stay there. They’ve ruined that city. I have people that used to live in Portland, they’ve left, most of them have left, but what they’ve done to that place is just, it’s like living in hell.”
Oregon response
On social media Friday, Gov. Tina Kotek replied, “President Trump’s threats to deploy National Guard troops in Portland is absurd, unlawful and un-American. His rhetoric represents an alarming disregard for the safety of Americans and their ability to govern themselves.”
Both Portland Mayor Keith Wilson and Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield also released statements Friday evening responding to Trump’s comments.
“Like other mayors across the country, I have not asked for — and do not need — federal intervention,” Wilson said. “We are proud that Portland police have successfully protected freedom of expression while addressing occasional violence and property destruction that takes place during protests at the ICE facility in Portland. We anticipate that the site, and the half-block surrounding it, will continue to be a focus of protests. Portland will continue to rise to the moment as a proud sanctuary city, taking legal action to stand up for our community and our rights.”
“If the president tries to send troops into Oregon to police our communities, we will not hesitate to take action in court,” Rayfield said. “Although some threats from the Trump administration may be new or surprising, this one is not: we’ve been preparing to respond since Trump returned to office. We’re actively preparing for various scenarios, in coordination with key partners in Oregon, and our multistate AG coalition. California showed how effective our approach can be to stop federal overreach. Oregon is a safe place, and we intend to keep it that way. The president may have a lot of power, but he has to stay in his lane—and if he doesn’t, we’ll hold him accountable.”
Multnomah County Chair Jessica Pederson said in a statement that Trump’s threat is “uncalled for and unnecessary,” adding in part, “If the President truly wanted to help Portland and Multnomah County, he would reverse his callous cuts to public health and safety net services like Medicaid — decisions that harm people in red and blue states alike. The President’s policies are supercharging an affordability crisis that is hitting us hard locally, raising the cost of food, housing and medicine for thousands of our residents.”
Democratic Congresswoman Janelle Bynum also spoke out, saying in part, “The people you want to send aren’t toy soldiers and terrorizing Americans isn’t what they signed up for. Quit wasting their time and the country’s money to play cops and robbers for your ego. Focus on your failing economic policies that are hurting Americans and raising our costs.”
