Democratic Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley of Oregon condemned President Donald Trump's "authoritarian takeover" of Portland after Trump announced his plan to deploy troops to the city, warning that Trump is trying to stir up violence in the progressive city.
Earlier, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a memorandum stating that 200 members of the Oregon National Guard would be “called into federal service effective immediately for a period of 60 days.”
The City of Portland and the State of Oregon responded by filing a lawsuit accusing the Trump administration for overstepping its authority in federalizing the Guard to address demonstrations outside an ICE facility that has been the center of protests for months. The lawsuit named Trump, Hegseth, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem as defendants.
Then, in a post on Truth Social, Trump announced that he'd ordered the deployment of “all necessary” troops to “protect” both “war-ravaged Portland” and ICE facilities from what he called “domestic terrorists.”
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Wyden swiftly called out Trump's plan and urged Oregonians to "reject" Trump's efforts "to provoke conflict in my hometown," writing on X:
"Trump is launching an authoritarian takeover of Portland hoping to provoke conflict in my hometown. I urge Oregonians to reject Trump’s attempt to incite violence in what we know is a vibrant and peaceful city. I will do everything in my power to protect the people in our state."
You can see his post below.
Merkley also issued a statement urging Oregonians not to "take the bait" and risk escalating the situation, posting:
"Trump is sending troops to Portland with the goal of 'doing a number' on the city. We know what this means. He wants to stoke fear and chaos and trigger violent interactions and riots to justify expanded authoritarian control."
"Let’s not take the bait! Portland is peaceful and strong and we will take care of each other."
You can hear what Merkley said in the video below.
Many joined the two senators in condemning Trump's actions, making clear Portland would not abide a move that is thoroughly unconstitutional.
Earlier this month, The Guardian reported that Trump told reporters he was considering sending troops to Portland after a television report—featuring footage from a 2020 protest falsely labeled as occurring this summer—apparently misled him about the size and intensity of the recent demonstrations.
Trump claimed that he had seen video evidence of “the destruction of the city,” adding that "I didn’t know that was continuing to go on, but Portland is unbelievable, what’s going on."
However, local and national news media have consistently reported that the current protests, which draw only a few dozen people at most, are nothing like the massive 2020 demonstrations after George Floyd’s killing, when thousands—sometimes tens of thousands—gathered in the city center for months.
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