If Portland Is a 'War Zone,' It's Not Because of Portlanders

"On Saturday, September 27, President Donald Trump authorized the deployment of National Guard troops to Portland to "protect" our city, which he has described as " war ravaged." He authorized "full force," later telling top military leaders that he wanted to use major American cities like ours as " training grounds" for soldiers. The decision is presumably related to the ongoing protests outside the ICE facility on S Macadam Avenue. "They've ruined that city," he said of Portland in early September, during a press interview. "What they've done to that place, it's like living in hell.""

"Since that first comment in September (though it's far from the first time our president has meandered his way toward the subject of this so-called "antifa" breeding ground), Portlanders have been posting videos on social media of the city in its finest form, often set to audio clips of the president besmirching its character-images of tree-lined streets, rose gardens, Powell's aisles, karaoke nights, Forest Park trails, Pickathon shows, Pedalpalooza rides, swirling swifts at dusk, scenes of a perfectly lovely city. "Some are asking how I found the courage to make... pumpkin bacon soup here in war-ravaged Portland," our restaurant critic, Jordan Michelman, captioned an image of a chunky autumnal stew."

"All the while, the New York Times has presented Trump's warped portrait of contemporary Portland as reasonable: A story published this weekend tacitly blamed the city's impending takeover on its "socialist revolution," referring to the four Democratic Socialists of America members on the 12-person city council. It blamed Portland's progressivism for crises that have affected cities around the country, like the spread of fentanyl and rise in homelessness, attributing the spike in overdose deaths to the now-reversed Measure 110, which famously decriminalized all drugs up to a certain amount (this clai"

President Donald Trump authorized National Guard deployment to Portland on September 27, describing the city as "war-ravaged" and approving "full force" while suggesting major American cities serve as "training grounds" for soldiers. The deployment appears linked to protests outside the ICE facility on S Macadam Avenue. Trump earlier said Portlanders had "ruined that city" and described living there as "like living in hell." Portland residents have posted social-media images celebrating local parks, bookstores, music events, and community life. Coverage in a national paper linked local progressivism and Measure 110 to rising drug deaths and homelessness.

Read at Portland Monthly