"On Wednesday, Trump told reporters, "The amazing thing is, you look at Portland and you see fires all over the place. You see fights, and I mean just violence. It's just so crazy." The president went on to compare Portland to a postapocalyptic movie that features "bombed out cities." He added, "I don't know what could be worse than Portland. You don't even have sewers anymore. They don't even put glass up. They put plywood on their windows. But most of the retailers have left.""
"Trump is a sinister buffoon, a menacing clown. His prevarications about Portland are motivated by political malice but also show his characteristic detachment from reality. Perhaps deciding that it's best to fight fire with fire, Portlanders have deployed a more joyful form of protest: wearing animal costumes while dancing in the streets in front of Trump's heavily armed ICE troops."
Trump painted Portland as chaotic and dangerous, claiming widespread fires, violence, and widespread retail departure. Those claims were labeled false and have been corrected by journalists, local officials, and a Trump-appointed federal judge. Many Portland residents responded with satirical, nonviolent protests that feature animal costumes and dancing in front of federal ICE forces. The protests aim to undercut fearmongering and show that residents are not intimidated. Fact-checking efforts and satire both serve important roles: preserving an accurate record in the face of authoritarian deception and using public creativity to rebut and deflate false narratives.
Read at The Nation
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