President Donald Trump declared on Saturday that he had directed troops to be sent to Portland, Oregon, saying he had authorised them to use “full force” to quell protests directed at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities.

The order was the latest instance of Trump’s use of the American military on the nation’s streets, after federal troops were sent to Washington last month in an effort to crack down on crime. Federal agents will begin arriving in Memphis as early as next week, after the President authorised the use of the National Guard there as part of a similar crackdown.

Like Trump’s other dispatches of federal forces, the Portland directive was quickly opposed by state and local officials, who called it unnecessary.

Governor Tina Kotek, a Democrat, said in an afternoon news briefing that she had spoken with the President and Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, on Saturday, and that she had told them to stay out. She did not plan to approve the use of the state’s National Guard, she added.

“Portland is doing just fine. I made that very clear to the President,” she said from the city’s downtown riverfront, as bicyclists and pontoon boats passed behind her. “We got this. We are doing fine. There is no insurrection. We do not need or want federal troops in Oregon.”

Kotek, who said that she learned of the President’s declaration after “waking up to the news on social media, like everyone else”, declined to reveal what Trump had told her, other than that he had agreed to continue talking.

Trump wrote in a social media post that, at Noem’s request, he had directed
defence secretary Pete Hegseth “to provide all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged
Portland, and any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists”.

He added: “I am also authorising Full Force, if necessary.”

It was not immediately clear what Trump meant by “full force”. Portland is one of the Democratic-led cities that has been in the President’s sights; he previously threatened to send the National Guard into Chicago to combat crime, though he has not yet done so.

In a statement, the Pentagon said it was “aware of the President’s directive to mobilise military personnel to Portland”.

In a news conference on Friday night, Portland civic leaders responded to reports of an increased federal presence, urging calm and telling residents that they believed Trump wanted to bait protesters into violent interactions with law enforcement. "We're in the midst of a renaissance, not chaos," said Wilson, the city's mayor.

New York Times News Service