Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel on Monday called the unrest in Democrat-run Portland “deeply frightening,” and said 2020 Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden has been “silent” on it.
“I think it’s a huge issue as a suburban mom, looking at the unrest happening in Portland, it is deeply frightening to see Democrats continue to fail their leadership duties, to continue to see Joe Biden silent on this issue,” she said in an interview on Fox & Friends.
Violent riots have continued in Portland for months, with far-left and black-clad Antifa protesters attacking federal buildings and clashing with federal law enforcement officers.
Biden released a statement that said law enforcement “are brutally attacking peaceful protesters” (emphasis added):
We have a president who is determined to sow chaos and division. To make matters worse instead of better. We all remember the appalling scenes in front of the White House, when peaceful protesters were gassed to make way for a Trump photo op. Now Homeland Security agents — without a clearly defined mandate or authority — are ranging far from federal property, stripped of badges and insignia and identifying markings, to detain people. They are brutally attacking peaceful protesters, including a U.S. Navy veteran. Of course the U.S. government has the right and duty to protect federal property. The Obama-Biden administration protected federal property across the country without resorting to these egregious tactics — and without trying to stoke the fires of division in this country. We need a president who will bring us together instead of tear us apart, calm instead of inflame, and enforce the law faithfully rather than put his political interests first.
Trump has praised law enforcement for arresting “anarchists.”
“They’re anarchists. And they were going wild for 51 days. And we went in. And they have done a great job. They were going to rip down the courthouse, a big federal courthouse, gorgeous federal courthouse,” he said in an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity on Thursday.
McDaniel added,”We do not want civil unrest in this country. We love our police, and the president is standing firm and saying we are not going to allow our country to devolve into anarchy, and the Democrats are sitting on their hands. And, I think this is a huge issue heading into November.”
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