PORTLAND, Oregon — President Donald Trump and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler traded blame and insults on Sunday after a man was fatally wounded in a shooting during ongoing protests in the city.
An exchange between Wheeler and Trump began Sunday as Wheeler held a news conference urging protesters and counter-protesters to avoid violence, oregonlive.com reports. Aaron Danielson, a supporter of the right-wing group Patriot Prayer, was shot in the chest and died Saturday night in Portland. Michael Forest Reinoehl, 48, has been taken into custody in connection with the shooting. The suspect has described himself as an anti-fascist and has attended protests since June, reports say.
Oregonlive.com reports it was clear Trump was watching Wheeler’s news conference on television as the president began tweeting about Wheeler, calling the mayor a “fool,” “wacky” and a “dummy,” and blaming him for the violence. Wheeler responded during the news conference.
“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 said. “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.”
Trump responded on Twitter, saying, “He would like to blame me and the Federal Government for going in, but he hasn’t seen anything yet. We have only been there with a small group to defend our U.S. Courthouse, because he couldn’t do it.”
Wheeler continued to criticize Trump, oregonlive.com reports.
“To act as though he’s shocked (at the shooting Saturday) is appalling to me,” Wheeler said. “I’d appreciate that either the president support us or he stay the hell out of the way.”
Protests have been held nightly in Portland for more than three months. Saturday night, hundreds of Trump supporters riding in pickup trucks poured into the city to counter the protests, the New York Times reports. Some of the Trump supporters fired at protesters with paint guns, with protesters responding by throwing things, the Times reports.
The Times reports that Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said Sunday that it’s possible that federal agents will be sent to Portland, despite city leaders saying the presence of federal authorities creates increased tensions.
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August 31, 2020 at 11:52AM
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Trump, Portland mayor clash, exchange blame for violence in city - cleveland.com
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