President Donald Trump is to blame for the violence in downtown Portland, says Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler.
"Do you seriously wonder, Mr. President, why this is the first time in decades that America has seen this level of violence?" Wheeler said at a press conference Sunday.
"It's you who has created the hate and the division."
One person was shot and killed late Saturday in Portland as a large caravan of Trump supporters and Black Lives Matter protesters clashed in the streets, police said.
Trump earlier Sunday unleashed a barrage of tweets in response to the violence, calling Wheeler an "incompetent Mayor" who "has no idea what he is doing."
"The people of Portland won't put up with no safety any longer. The Mayor is a FOOL. Bring in the National Guard!" he added.
Trump and other speakers at last week's convention evoked a violent, dystopian future if Democrat presidential hopeful Joe Biden wins in November and pointed to Portland as a cautionary tale for what would be in store for Americans.
Portland has been the site of nightly protests for more than three months since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Many of them end in vandalism and violence, and hundreds of demonstrators have been arrested by local and federal law enforcement since late May.
Wheeler on Sunday said voters would hold both him and Trump accountable and urged Portland residents to help reduce the violence.
"Today we need to decide who we are and where we want to go from here," Wheeler said. "Don't let this be the spark that sets off an acceleration of hostilities in our beautiful city. Those are not our values."
Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., both on Sunday blamed Trump for "fanning the flames" of violence contibuting to unrest.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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