Donald Trump posted a victory tweet this afternoon, lauding his decision to send federal agents to Portland even though the move was widely criticized and viewed to have stoked violence in the city.
…do not stop the Crime and Violence from the Anarchists and Agitators immediately, the Federal Government will go in and do the job that local law enforcement was supposed to do!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2020
Trump’s scheme to deploy federal agents to Portland without the request of state or local officials resulted in just 22 people being arrested by those federal personnel through Sunday, July 26th.
Protests grew in the wake of Trump’s deployment, with mothers, fathers, vets, health care workers and teachers forming human “walls” between protestors and federal agents. Local and state officials said that the presence of federal agents incited more aggressive behavior; it didn’t relieve it.
Despite claims by Trump, Attorney General William Barr and the republican members of House Judiciary Committee, federal agents prowling the streets of Portland did not generate public support. Video of agents snatching people off the street and beating an unarmed, unaggressive Navy veteran created a public backlash and not the jump in Trump’s popularity the Administration expected.