On Saturday, a person associated with the right-wing party was shot dead in Portland, Oregon’s largest city. This devastating event happened as a large caravan of Trump’s followers drove via downtown Portland, where it has been a centre of nightly protests since the past three months.
This is the second shooting in the same week. The first person was Jacob Black whose killing took place in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Nevertheless, the protests which started after the killing of George Floyd and now fired up again by the killing of Jacob Black.
Hundreds of trucks ornamented with Trump flags and filled with his backers rallied through the city. They wreaked havoc in the city, having clashes and fistfights with the Black Lives Matter protesters. They started shooting paintball guns from the beds of the trucks against the protesters who in return, were chucking objects at them.
A New York Times reporter released a video of the scene.
Trump’s reaction to the incident
The very next morning Donald Trump released a torrent of tweets and retweets out of which, many of them directed towards Ted Wheeler, the mayor of the city. He in fact retweeted a video which showed his supporters creating chaos in Portland with all the paintball guns and pepper sprays. He stated that the backlash which was going on Portland cannot unexpected. And he lauded his supporters as ‘GREAT PATRIOTS!’. This clearly shows that the president seems to support the happenings instead of trying to cool down the situation.
Trump seized the opportunity and took aim at his Democratic rivals in Portland.
The Mayor of Portland Ted Wheeler said he had a heavy heart because of the occurrence. He deflected the hits back at Trump saying that he supported and enthused the people who created such turmoil.
The mayor said, “Do you seriously wonder, Mr. President, why this is the first time in decades that America has seen this level of violence? It’s you who have created the hate and the division”.
Trump again, mocked Mr. Wheeler calling him a dummy.
Joe Biden also slammed Trump as stated on Sunday afternoon, “Donald Trump has been president for almost four years. The temperature in the country is higher, tensions run stronger, divisions run deeper.”
He also asserted that he condemns violence of every kind and by anyone. And he challenged Trump to do the same.
The victim and the suspect
The details of the victim are not yet disclosed. But the authorities said that he was shot in the chest and that he was wearing a Patriot Prayer hat.
Patriot Prayer is a far-right group based in Portland. The leaders grieved the loss of their member and said that he had a huge heart.
. The police have asked those who have witnessed this incident or have any proof of it to come forward. They started an investigation and have warned not to come to any conclusions.
