Published 13:42 IST, August 31st 2020
Trump presses 'Law and Order', calls Mayor 'fool' in aftermath of Portland shooting
Renewing his calls on the deployment of National Guards in the state, Trump said, Biden must be “weak on crime” as he called Mayor Wheeler a "democratic fool".
- World News
- 4 min read
After the night of the fatal shooting in the US city of Portland, US President Donald Trump pressed for a “Law and Order” narrative to the democrats. In the aftermath of a clash broke out between the Black Lives Matter protesters and pro-Trump counter-protesters Trump launched verbal attacks on Joe Biden and the Mayor of Portland about violence, unrest, and vandalism. Renewing his calls on the deployment of National Guards in the state, Trump said, Biden must be “weak on crime” because of the Bernie Sanders radical left voters. He called Biden “a toast” and democratic states as "infested with crime and violence."
On August 29, violence in Portland escalated after a patron was shot and killed. A large caravan of President Donald Trump's supporters and Black Lives Matter protesters clashed on the streets. Almost 600 vehicles of protesters were confronted by the counter-demonstrators in Downtown, that left the area around 8:30 pm after gunshot sounds resonated, the police reportedly said. While officers arrived at the scene “within a minute,” the man had succumbed.
An AP report cited its source on the scene, confirming three rounds of gunshots, and the police medics attending in short while to the wounded man who later did not survive. The incident occurred parallel to the statewide demonstration in Kenosha, Wisconsin as "tense moments” and unrest engulfed the state. Earlier, two demonstrators were reportedly shot dead and many others wounded at Kenosha ‘Defund The Police’ protests.
Post the incident, the Mayor of Portland, Oregon, and President Donald Trump engaged in a real-time argument blaming each other for the shooting and vandalism. While Ted Wheeler, the Wisconsin Mayor held a press conference regarding the fatal shooting, Trump launched a flurry of tweets calling him "a democrat fool" that allowed the violence to proliferate on the streets. On-air live, and visibly angry, Mayor Wheeler lashed out on camera at Trump, saying, "That’s classic Trump. Mr. President, how can you think that a comment like that, if you’re watching this, is in any way helpful?
Wheeler was further quoted by an AP report as saying, "It’s an aggressive stance, it is not collaborative. I certainly reached out, I believe in a collaborative manner, by saying earlier that you need to do your part and I need to do my part and then we both need to be held accountable". Moments later, the police report confirmed that the Patriot Prayer founder Joey Gibson identified the victim as Aaron “Jay” Danielson and said that the victim was a nice man and a “good friend".
Governer objects to Trump's visit
As per local media reports, as President Trump is set to visit the agitated state of Wisconsin on September 1, governor Tony Evers, in a letter objected to the visit, saying, it will only “hinder our healing”. However, no formal response in this regard has been documented by the US broadcasters or the White House yet. Democrat candidate Biden called out Trump, saying, he was “encouraging violence”. Further accusing Trump of inciting the unrest, 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."
[A man is treated after being shot in Portland, Ore. It wasn’t clear if the fatal shooting late Saturday was linked to fights that broke out as a caravan of about 600 vehicles was confronted by counterdemonstrators in the city’s downtown. AP Photo/Paula Bronstein]
[Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler calls for an end to violence in the city during a news conference. Sean Meagher/The Oregonian via AP]
Updated 13:42 IST, August 31st 2020