Demings: Portland shooting is ‘what happens’ when homeland security is ‘politicized’

Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.) on Sunday called the shooting death during violent clashes between pro-Trump and leftist demonstrators in Portland, Ore., “what happens” as a result of homeland security becoming “politicized.”

“This is exactly what happens when homeland security, the intelligence community, the military who are charged with protecting our homeland, are politicized,” Demings, the former chief of police in Orlando, Fla., said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

Demings also called on President Trump to directly address protesters in Portland to alleviate tensions.

“Wouldn’t it be nice for the president of the United States to take to the microphone or the airwaves and send a message for peace and calm?” she asked.

“This now more than ever is a time when we need to hear from the president of the United States,” Demings added. “But the chaos and disorder and lawlessness we are currently seeing, that’s Donald Trump’s America.”

Demings also said Trump “is not capable of fulfilling his duties,” adding that “his primary responsibility is the health, safety and well-being of the American people.”

Asked whether the protests themselves had gotten out of hand, Demings responded that while protesters had the right to peaceably assemble, “anyone on any side in any place who violates the law has to be held accountable.”

“We don’t condemn those who are obeying the law because of those who do not obey the law,” she said. “We can do both, and we have done both.”

Have recent #Protests gotten out of hand? @RepValDemings says “In America, we know that demonstrators have the right to demonstrate guaranteed by the First Amendment,” but she reiterates, “We are a nation of laws” and any violation of the law has to be held accountable pic.twitter.com/tWLuydikKC

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) August 30, 2020

One person was fatally shot in Portland late Saturday after clashes erupted between Black Lives Matter protesters and a caravan of Trump supporters, police said.