Stephen Miller, President Trump’s senior policy adviser, said Thursday the public should praise the Department of Homeland Security agents recently deployed to Portland, Oregon.
“You have a hundred brave DHS officers standing up against that lawless mob,” Mr. Miller said on Fox News. “They should be celebrated. They should be celebrated as heroes.”
Mr. Miller lauded the federal agents during an interview conducted by Fox News host Tucker Carlson that touched on the Trump administration’s deployment last week of DHS officers to Portland in response to unrest that has swept that city and others for nearly two months following the racially charged killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, a Democrat, was tear gassed Wednesday night while at a protest against racial injustice and police brutality during a standoff between demonstrators and DHS officers.
“I saw what it means when the federal government unleashes paramilitary forces against its own people,” he later reacted on Twitter. “It is unconscionable and un-American. We are all committed to change — this must stop so the work can move forward.”
Mr. Trump has referred to the protesters in Portland as “anarchists” and said he plans to deploy DHS officers to other cities controlled by Democrats to help local law enforcement.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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