The Portland Clashes Trump should tell his supporters to stay away from Antifa protests.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-portland-clashes-11598829099?mod=opinion_lead_pos1
The violent protests of the last three months in Portland, Ore., escalated on Saturday night into a right-left confrontation that resulted in one man shot dead in the streets. This is what happens when political leaders fail to perform the most basic responsibility of government to protect innocent lives and property.
The main failure here lies with Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Gov. Kate Brown, who have consistently indulged the rioters. Every night for more than 90 days, Black Lives Matter and Antifa protesters have demonstrated in Portland. Many are peaceful, but a hard core have repeatedly attacked police and burned buildings.
When President Trump sent federal law enforcement agents to Portland this summer to protect federal buildings, the mayor and Governor blamed Mr. Trump for the violent clashes. But when federal agents stood down, the violence continued against Portland police and property. On Friday Mr. Wheeler issued an open letter rejecting Mr. Trump’s latest offer of federal help to restore order.
“We don’t need your politics of division and demagoguery. Portlanders are onto you. We have already seen your reckless disregard for human life in your bumbling response to the COVID pandemic. And we know you’ve reached the conclusion that images of violence or vandalism are your only ticket to reelection,” Mr. Wheeler wrote.
Yet his city is the one burning and where someone has now been killed. Mr. Wheeler, Gov. Brown and state lawmakers have hamstrung police by limiting anti-riot tactics. At a Sunday press conference the Portland police chief said his department lacked the resources to separate the fighting factions, but the feckless Mr. Wheeler offered little more than a plea against violence and rhetoric about reform to address racial injustice.
That hasn’t stopped Democrats from blaming Mr. Trump for the violence, as they did all day Sunday. Democrats spent their convention never mentioning the urban violence, but after the Kenosha riots and the GOP convention, this has become a political liability. So they’re pivoting to blame Mr. Trump and claim that “his America” is causing it. As if Trump supporters belong to Antifa and dominate U.S. cities.
As he often does, however, Mr. Trump took the bait and fired off tweets that CNN and Democrats spun as incitement. “The big backlash going on in Portland cannot be unexpected after 95 days of watching and incompetent Mayor admit that he has no idea what he is doing. The people of Portland won’t put up with no safety any longer. The Mayor is a FOOL. Bring in the National Guard!” he tweeted.
He’s right about the National Guard, but Mr. Trump would help Portland and his own political cause more if he called for calm on all sides. That includes his supporters who rolled into Portland for a counter-protest on Saturday. According to news reports, the man who was killed in the streets was wearing a hat for “Patriot Prayer,” the right-wing group that sometimes clashes with Antifa.
Mr. Trump should tell his supporters to stay away from Portland, Kenosha, Wis., and other cities where rioters reign. Democrats and Mr. Trump’s media opponents will take any opening they can to make alleged vigilantism the story rather than the failure of progressive Democratic governance.
The President can continue to offer local officials federal help if they want it. And he should offer sympathy for the people of Portland, Kenosha and other violent cities who have been let down by state and local leaders.
Vigilantism isn’t the cause of the current urban violence, but it could become one result of the failure to control violence. Americans have watched for weeks as rioters burned and looted businesses that people spent a lifetime building. Yet mayors like Ted Wheeler have let it happen. Inevitably, average citizens will move to defend themselves if elected officials won’t protect them. The proper place to do that is at the ballot box, however, not in the streets with guns.
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