A top Homeland Security Department official accused Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler of letting his opposition to President Trump come before the safety of his city in Oregon.
Ken Cuccinelli, the acting DHS deputy secretary, said on Monday he believes that Wheeler is trying to blame Trump for the riots in his city to harm the president’s reelection odds rather than taking steps to curb the violent demonstrations. He noted that Oregon Gov. Kate Brown ordered state police to assist local law enforcement in Portland, signaling that they need similar support to what Trump has been trying send.
“We’re dealing with a mayor who hates President Trump more than he loves the people in Portland. And he doesn’t care about peace if he thinks he can score cheap political points on the president while he’s up for reelection. And the president just wants peace,” Cuccinelli told America’s Newsroom on Fox News.
“That’s all we did in Kenosha is advance what was needed to achieve peace there. … It works — if they would take the president’s formula in Oregon. But the reason they won’t is simply because the president wants them to do it. That’s the only reason they’re doing this, and it’s terrible, it’s pathetic, and it’s horrible leadership,” he added.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers accepted Trump’s offer to send federal law enforcement assistance to Kenosha after a shooting left two protesters dead. The riots in the city have since subsided.
One protester was shot dead in Portland over the weekend, just days after Wheeler posted a statement to Twitter telling the Trump administration and federal law enforcement to “stay away” from the city.
