In a press conference earlier this month, President Trump talked about how living in Portland, Oregon, is “like living in hell” and is considering sending the National Guard troops into the city to help lower crime, like he has done with both Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. Portland’s Mayor Keith Wilson says it is unnecessary.
“I will say this, I watched today, I
didn’t know that was continuing to go on, but Portland is unbelievable, what’s going on,” Trump said. He continued by saying that the city of Portland is being destroyed and that it has been going on for years. Congresswoman Dexter, who represents Portland, says, “It’s a beautiful, inspiring place to represent. I certainly don’t think that it’s like living in hell.”
While it is true that after the pandemic in 2020, Portland had a decline, mostly due to a loss in population and investment declines, Portland has been making its comeback in recent years. The decline was fueled by higher housing costs, rising crime, and decreased metro ratings. However, in 2024, there was an increase in population reported, reversing years of decline. Although the city is still under its 2020 peak population numbers, this shift in population is seen as a positive sign for Portland, and there is hope of recovery after the pandemic.
More statistics show that Portland has become a safer city in recent years. From January 2024 through June 2024, violent crime overall in Portland fell by 17 percent, aggravated assault was brought down to 18 percent, robberies by 10 percent, and sexual assault by 12 percent. Homicides took a nosedive, dropping by 51 percent. This is the largest homicide decrease of any major city in report. This shows that maybe Portland is not the reason for this threat, but Portland’s political opinions.
From the 1960s, Portland has leaned into a more democratic light, with its slogan being “Keep Portland Weird.” It has a history of having more liberal and progressive values and prominent protests. Since the beginning of Trump’s presidency, there have been three major protests in Portland this year, the first being the “No Kings” protest earlier this year. This protest was opposing Trump and his administration. “It feels oddly powerless lately. This is important; to get out and use your voice,” said Angie Kraute of Milwaukie. The Labor Day protest also opposed the president’s administration on immigration policies, tariffs, and the deployment of the National Guard. Protests have also been held regularly in front of the U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices, which have all been peaceful.
It is unclear what video Donald Trump watched, but it is suspected to be an old video from a segment from Fox News of the George Floyd protests in 2020. The segment was a video of the protests outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building, mixed with a misleading video of a federal agent being pepper-sprayed. These videos were falsely described as recent events. This would explain Trump’s outcry on Portland and his comment saying, “We are going to wipe them out,” in a recent interview.
As of September 28th, 2025, President Donald Trump has deployed 200 Oregon National Guard troops into Portland, saying to use “full force, if necessary.”. “I think this is a sad day for our country, a sad day for Oregon that the president of the United States does not listen to local leaders about what they need,” Oregon Governor Tina Kotek, a Democrat, stated. The state of Oregon has decided to fight the Trump administration, calling this an unconstitutional abuse of power, and is suing the administration.
