Oregon governor rejects Trump’s plan to send troops to Portland; calls city ‘just fine’

File photo: US President Donald Trump and Oregon Governor Tina Kotek (Picture credit: AP)

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek said Saturday she directly told US President Donald Trump that Portland does not need federal troops, after he announced plans to send soldiers to “war-ravaged” Portland to protect immigration facilities.“Portland is doing just fine, and I made that very clear to the President this morning,” Kotek said at a waterfront press conference in Portland, joined by city and business leaders, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB). “Our city is a far cry from the war-ravaged community that he has posted about on social media. I conveyed that directly to him”, Kotek added.Trump wrote on Truth Social that he was directing the secretary of war, Pete Hegseth, to “provide all necessary Troops to protect war-ravaged Portland, and any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists.” He added that he was authorising “Full Force, if necessary”.Kotek, however, rejected that description, saying there is no insurrection or national security threat. She confirmed receiving a letter from the department of war offering the option of deploying the National Guard but said, “There is no mission for them right now. I am not deploying the Oregon National Guard”. She said Trump appeared to be acting on “information that is not accurate today,” suggesting images from 2020 protests had misled him. “There are protests here, but it is not what we saw during the pandemic,” Kotek said, as per OPB.Portland Mayor Keith Wilson echoed the governor, saying, “The number of necessary troops is zero, in Portland and any other American city”. Rep Suzanne Bonamici called Trump’s announcement “a gross abuse of power,” while Rep Maxine Dexter said it was a “betrayal of American values”, as per The Hill.Republicans in the state defended Trump’s order. House minority leader Christine Drazan argued local leaders had failed to restore order, while US labor secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer described Portland as a “crime-ridden war zone”.Kotek said she and Oregon attorney general Dan Rayfield are considering legal action if troops are sent. For now, she urged residents to remain calm. “Let’s not take the bait,” she said.