Bass: Trump’s ‘only’ purpose is to ‘agitate’ violence

Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) on Sunday slammed President Trump’s scheduled visit to Kenosha, Wis. in wake of protests over the police shooting of Jacob Blake. 

“I think his visit has one purpose and one purpose only, that is to agitate things and make things [worse],” the Congressional Black Caucus chair said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” 

“What happened in Portland,” Bass added, referring the clashes between Black Lives Matter protesters and counter protesters, “you saw a parade of Trump supporters actively shooting paintballs at peaceful protesters, and the president, in my opinion, encourages that. He actually retweeted the people firing paint guns, I think he only means to agitate things.”

Trump retweeted a video of the clash in Portland, Oregon, including some individuals appearing to fire paintballs, in a Sunday morning post slamming local officials and calling for the National Guard to be deployed.

“The big backlash going on in Portland cannot be unexpected after 95 days of watching and incompetent Mayor admit that he has no idea what he is doing. The people of Portland won’t put up with no safety any longer.The Mayor is a FOOL. Bring in the National Guard!,” Trump tweeted. 

The big backlash going on in Portland cannot be unexpected after 95 days of watching and incompetent Mayor admit that he has no idea what he is doing. The people of Portland won’t put up with no safety any longer.The Mayor is a FOOL. Bring in the National Guard! https://t.co/bM6ypak94t

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 30, 2020

Trump also tweeted “GREAT PATRIOTS!” along with a video of the caravan of supporters heading to Portland. 

Bass later said Trump’s “throwback” campaign is about “law and order,” but said he is actually “doing anything to disrupt law and order.” 

Her comments came after police said a person was fatally shot in Portland late Saturday after clashes between Black Lives Matter protest and a caravan of Trump’s supporters. Protests have occurred daily in Portland since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May, and have been reignited after the police shooting of Blake in Kenosha. 

A White House spokesperson said Saturday that Trump will visit Kenosha on Tuesday. 

Protests have erupted in Kenosha following the shooting. Last Tuesday, two protesters were shot and killed and another was injured. Officials later arrested suspect Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old from Illinois. He faces multiple homicide charges.