After almost a week that witnessed the summertime protests over police treatment of Black Americans intensify, President Donald Trump, reacting across a barrage of tweets on Sunday, once again, denounced the 'Black Lives Matter' protesters as "agitators and thugs," and called for a federal crackdown on demonstrations in cities, including Washington, Portland, Oregon, where a man lost his life after tensions between pro-Trump and liberal groups burst into violence.
Bombarding nearly 90 tweets and retweets, Trump touted his chances for reelection, attacked Democratic state and local officials over the ongoing protests and defended aggressive actions by his supporters in Portland, who appeared to be firing paintballs and pepper spray at onlookers from pickup trucks as they drove through the city streets on Saturday night.
"The people of Portland won't put up with no safety any longer. The Mayor is a FOOL. Bring in the National Guard!" Trump wrote.
Hours later, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said in an interview with "Meet the Press" that President Trump is "on the side of law enforcement and the rule of law."
Meadows noted that the president has called for an investigation into the shooting of Jacob Blake, the Wisconsin man shot seven times in the back by police, last week, arguing "that's why we have laws and that's why we have a justice system."
When asked repeatedly whether Trump would try to de-escalate tensions among his supporters, some of whom have been accused of provoking violence with protestors, Meadows answered that the president is backing law enforcement and that the federal government is "willing to provide additional assets" to states looking to control unrest.
"The president is on the side of law enforcement and the rule of law and he's been very consistent in that," he said further.
"The president believes what we need to do is make sure that we have exactly what resources are available for every single city. And if you are having a problem, governors, we want to make sure we can help you with that," he added.
Portland and other cities across the country have seen surging protests Blake's death. In addition, the city specifically has been a hotbed for protests in recent months, and while many have been peaceful, police say some protestors have started fires or tried to destroy property around a federal courthouse.
The major contention among authorities has been that Democratic mayors and officials continue to resist the help of federal law enforcement to quell protests, which have erupted in response to police brutality and racial inequality. Many Democrats also accused federal law enforcement agents of escalating violence against civilians and said that they are not welcome.
