Trump’s secret police in Portland — and GOP lawmakers’ complicity — could have 2020 consequences: polling

AlterNet logoPresident Donald Trump’s brutal ongoing crackdown on protests in Portland, Oregon and his threats to send federal agents into other major U.S. cities in the coming days could have electoral consequences for not only Trump but also vulnerable Republican senators in key battleground states who are up for re-election this November, according to polling released Friday by MoveOn Political Action.

Public Policy Polling (PPP) this week surveyed registered voters in Arizona, Maine, and North Carolina, and found that majorities in all three states oppose Trump’s deployment of federal agents in Portland. Some critics have charged the president’s tactics are part of a ploy to sow chaos across the country in an effort to “steal” the election in November, when he is expected to face off against former Vice President Joe Biden. Voters also want Congress to intervene. Continue reading.

Oregon Governor: Trump Seeking To Provoke Violence With Portland Arrests

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown is up in arms after camouflaged federal agents were discovered to be patrolling the streets of Portland, inciting violence and abducting protesters in what she described as a naked attempt by the Trump administration to provoke violence for political gain.

“Trump is looking for a confrontation in Oregon in the hopes of winning political points in Ohio or Iowa,” Brown, a Democrat, tweeted Thursday night. She accused Donald Trump and his administration of seeking to portray racial justice protests as dangerous uprisings to help get his base out to the polls.

Brown added that acting-Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf is “on a mission to provoke confrontation for political purposes,” and in the process is “putting both Oregonians and local law enforcement officers in harm’s way.” Continue reading.