Sunday, House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) reacted to President Donald Trump ordering federal agents to Portland, OR, to help protect federal property amid ongoing violent protests.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler has decried the use of federal agents in the city, saying he does not need or want them in Portland because they are causing more violence.
Clyburn sounded a similar tune to Wheeler, telling MSNBC’s “Kasie DC” that “nobody asked” the Trump administration to send over “stormtroopers in order to incite people.”
“Who protects that federal courthouse every day of the week? Who protected it two months ago? The local law enforcement people know how to protect property,” argued Clyburn. “They don’t discern between federal or state property. The fact of the matter is, there are federal buildings all over Columbia, South Carolina, and our local law enforcement people protect those buildings. And if they need help in protecting those buildings, they will ask the federal government for help.”
He continued, “Nobody asked the federal government to come into Portland. Nobody asked them to come to Seattle. This is something that’s made up out of whole cloth by this administration as an excuse for sending in stormtroopers in order to incite people.”
Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent
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