He's also claimed Portland is 'ablaze'.
Despite the Portland mayor, fire officials and eye witnesses saying otherwise, his stupid - and I do mean stupid - followers buy it hook, line and sinker.
For clarification purposes, I should note that everyone mentioned above does acknowledge that there has been some violence and destruction of property and that it should be reigned in. No one is denying that. All that said, it's all happening within a city block and it's not the total armageddon that Trump would have you believe.
From
Heather Cox Richardson's August 31 update:
This afternoon, Trump claimed that Portland, Oregon “is ablaze.” Josh Campbell, a CNN law enforcement correspondent on the ground in Portland and a former FBI supervisory special agent, called this "a lie."
Campbell told CNN: "Portland is not a city under siege. Today, I went to a Starbucks downtown, ate lunch at one of the city's famous downtown food trucks, and bought a new pair of shoes at the mall. As I write this, I'm looking out of my hotel room at a bike tour riding by outside on the downtown street…. To be sure, there have been protests -- peaceful during the daytime, and some turning violent at night -- for over 90 days, but the rioting has largely been confined to one city block downtown near the federal courthouse. Last night, protesters showed up at a police precinct a few miles from downtown and were dispersed by police after some protesters started throwing eggs and rocks at police cars. There has been periodic, localized violence, but nothing widespread."
Portland firefighter Lt. Rich Chatman agreed: “WE ARE NOT ABLAZE IN PORTLAND,” he texted to CNN reporter Daniel Dale. “There is a very isolated pocket of demonstrations that have involved fire… none of which have been substantial enough to need more than 1 fire engine.”
