An Oregon lawmaker was so succinct and cutting in her answer to a question about President Donald Trump sending federal troops into Portland that an ABC News anchor thought technical difficulties had cut the interview short.
Democratic Rep. Janelle Bynum did not mince words when she looked straight into the camera and told host Ike Ejiochi, “There will be no federal takeover of Portland.”
Ejiochi had asked her how concerned she was about a federal takeover of Portland.
After her biting answer, Bynum sat staring at the camera for more than 10 seconds, until Ejiochi realized she was still there.
View on Threads
“OK, Congresswoman Janelle Bynum. I think we have some issues there, but as you heard her say, there will not be a federal takeover in Portland. Oh, Congresswoman, you’re still there,” he said, startled that her answer was so to the point.
“I’m here. I was just very clear. There will be no federal takeover of Portland,” she repeated.
“Oregonians are clear about making sure their constitutional rights are protected to free speech and free assembly and they won’t be intimidated. That said, this idea that Portland is violent, it’s the 72nd ranked city in the country for violent crime,” she stated.
“So, I don’t know where the president is getting his information from, but he’s getting the wrong, the wrong feed,” Bynum added.
Social media rallied around her. “She said what she said. Period,” one person responded.
“Yeah, she said what she said lol,” Threads user rookie_chitoo chimed in.“Did she stutter?” another user asked.
And another, “Ha. Awesome.”
“The silence after her answer was LOUD!” poster this Threads user.
Trump notified Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek earlier this week that he had federalized members of the Oregon National Guard, putting them under his control, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.
It’s unclear when they will be deployed to Portland, but the pushback from state lawmakers has been increasing. Mayors from across the region are standing in solidarity against sending federal troops into Portland.
The mayor of Beaverton, Lacey Beaty, wondered where Trump is getting his information.
“The president cannot watch footage from over a half-decade ago and believe this is the Portland that we’re standing in today,” Beaty said at a media briefing Monday.
She was referring to the weeks of rioting in Portland after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020 by police officer Derek Chauvin.
Floyd’s murder sparked massive protests across the country, not just in Portland.
Trump has already sent troops into Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and Memphis, Tennessee, and has threatened to deploy the military in other mostly Democratic-run cities, such as Chicago and Baltimore.
