Former Vice President Joe Biden said Sunday that the pro-Trump caravan that drove through Portland, Oregon, on Sunday was “spoiling for a fight.”
Biden was responding to the shooting death of a right-wing protester Saturday evening who had reportedly participated in the pro-Trump caravan.
The victim’s name has been reported as Aaron “Jay” Danielson. According to the Oregonian, police are investigating a man named Michael Forest Reinoehl, 48, for the crime. He is allegedly a supporter of Antifa and Black Lives Matter who has taken part in riots over the past several months in Portland, and was reportedly arrested by police at a riot July 5th and cited for possession of a loaded weapon.
Video of the caravan showed confrontations with left-wing protesters on the streets.
However, there was no evidence yet that Anderson was involved in those confrontations. The caravan was reportedly over when he was shot and killed.
In a statement, Biden condemned the use of violence by all sides, but then blamed President Donald Trump for “incitement.”
He also said: “It is not a peaceful protest when you out go out spoiling for a fight.” He has made no similar criticism of the left-wing activists who have rioted in recent months.
Critics suggested that Biden was blaming the victim.
Byron York of the Washington Examiner wrote: “[Biden’s] conclusion: It’s all President Trump’s fault. When a Trump supporter shoots a rioter in Kenosha, Wisconsin, it’s Trump’s fault. When a rioter shoots a Trump supporter in Portland, it’s Trump’s fault. And in that latter case, Biden suggested, the victim was asking for it.”
Biden is expected to address the issue of violence in a speech Monday in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). His new book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.