
There is no police power in the federal Constitution. The police power is left to the states. To the extent the President can send federal officers into Portland, Oregon, and other cities, it should be to protect federal property.
The President cannot save Portland from itself, and he should not. He cannot save the other cities either.
I want a mask mandate, but there is no federal police power for the President to impose it. It must come from governors, who have more expansive police powers than your average libertarian-leaning person would have you believe.
The President does not have the power to issue mask mandates, and he does not have the power to send law enforcement to police the streets of America.
The people of Portland have a history of outlandish behavior and displays of protest, including nudity. The place is so bizarre there’s been an entire television show parodying Portland.By sending federal troops to Portland, the President is not only allowing Portland an escape from their own democratic choices but also providing them with a scapegoat to take the blame. Portland can blame President Donald Trump instead of its residents. They can blame Washington instead of their mayor.
In Portland, the accounts of what is happening diverge. The President and his supporters claim he is protecting federal property and rounding up rioters who have vandalized the property. The media and Democrats claim the presence of these troops is unsettling the city, provoking protestors and arresting more than just those who vandalize property.
Last week, the President and attorney general announced the President will send more federal authorities to cities like Chicago to help local law enforcement with out-of-control crime. This is part of the President’s “law and order” messaging that he has been tweeting regularly. Some will conclude the President is using federal employees to inflame tensions and then set those employees on protestors to try to bolster his claim of out-of-control cities.
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