Trump threatens to send National Guard troops to Portland after being misled by a 2020 protest video

US President Donald Trump told reporters on Saturday that he might send National Guard troops into Portland, Oregon, after being misled to think that a 2020 protest video from the city took place this summer. Earlier, a TV report incorrectly presented a video of 2020 protests and stated that the demonstrations took place this year.

“I will say this, I watched today, I didn’t know that was continuing to go on, but Portland is unbelievable, what’s going on,” Trump said. He then claimed, incorrectly, that he had seen video evidence of “the destruction of the city”.

While a handful of protesters have demonstrated outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in the remote area of Portland this year, the scale of the protests was not as big as the one that took place in 2020. The falsely presented video belonged to the 2020 demonstration following the police killing of George Floyd, which regularly drew thousands to tens of thousands of demonstrators to a central part of the city for months.

“Are you going to Portland?” a reporter asked Trump at the Oval Office. “Well, I’m going to look at it now because I didn’t know that was still going on. This has been going on for years,” the president replied. He went on to explain how he had been misled into the entirely false belief that the large-scale protests from 2020 had continued.

Trump points his troops towards Portland

Trump maintained that his administration can ensure stability in the city by the use of National Guard troops. “We’ll be able to stop that very easily, but that was not on my list, Portland, but when I watched television last night, this has been going on,” Trump said.

Meanwhile, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson condemned Trump’s proclamation. “Like other mayors across the country, I have not asked for – and do not need – federal intervention,” Portland Mayor Keith Wilson said in a statement on Friday.

“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,” Wilson furthered.

While the president did not cite any particular news outlet when talking about the video, Fox News broadcast on Thursday mixed images of a recent protest in Portland, attended by dozens of protesters, with a viral video clip from 2020.

The report mainly focused on one protest, which took place outside the ICE facility on Tuesday, attended by dozens of protesters who brought a guillotine as a prop before being doused with chemical agents by federal officers. “These are paid terrorists,” the president said, once again spreading a baseless conspiracy theory his administration amplified about anti-fascist protesters in 2020.

“These are paid agitators, these are professionals. I watched that last night. I’m very good at this stuff. These are paid agitators; they get paid money by radical left groups,” he exclaimed. Trump went on to suggest that well-printed signs displayed by some protesters proved his theory.

“These are paid agitators, and they’re very dangerous for our country, and when we go there, if we go to Portland, we’re going to wipe ’em out. They’re going to be gone. They won’t even stand to fight. They will not stay there. They’ve ruined that city,” he said. “It’s like living in hell,” the American leader remarked.

In light of this, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield threatened to take action if Trump sent troops to Oregon. “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,” Rayfield said. “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.”