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Since President Donald Trump deployed federal police to Portland, he can talk of little else. Perhaps that's because he sees the images of civil unrest in our streets as a winning issue for his reelection campaign. It could signal his eagerness to "send in the National Guard," as he's previously threatened. Maybe he just really likes saying "Portland." Whatever the reason, at most of his press briefings—at a policy meeting in the Arlington, Va., Ritz-Carlton or at a campaign stop in Scranton, Pa.—he discusses our city.
How fixated is he? We decided to conduct a regular review of his official remarks and stump speeches, as compiled by the White House Press Office, to ascertain how angry the president is with Portland this week.
How many times did the president say the word "Portland" in remarks last week? 11
What was his harshest appraisal? "If you want a vision of your life under a Biden presidency, think of the smoldering ruins in Minneapolis, the violent anarchy of Portland, the bloodstained sidewalks of Chicago, and imagine the mayhem coming to your town and every single town in America," he said Aug. 20 in Scranton. "If you want law and order, you've got to have law and order. You can't have what's happening in Portland. Did you see the kid get whacked the other day? Just whacked, like he was a piece of garbage? I mean, who could take it?"
How hot does his anger burn? He's as angry as a right-wing protester pulling a gun on anti-fascists.