Over the weekend, a federal judge blocked President Trump from deploying the National Guard in Portland. The judge blocked Trump from deploying the California National Guard to Oregon too. Interestingly, the ruling cited Trump’s own tweet, which described Portland as “war ravaged,” in determining that he does not have unlimited authority to wildly invent facts on the ground wholesale as a pretext to justify any use of the military he wants. “The President’s determination was simply untethered to the facts,” this Trump-appointed judge declared. “This is a nation of Constitutional law, not martial law.” In short, Trump’s gale-force bad faith worked against him. We talked to Oregon’s Attorney General Dan Rayfield, who explains the ruling, details how Trump’s lawless words and threats are undermining his own case, examines the larger stakes of this moment, and looks ahead to what’s next. Listen to this episode here. A transcript is here.
PODCAST
Trump’s Own Tweet on Portland Backfires as Judge Deals Him Harsh Loss
As a judge’s blunt ruling blocks Trump from deploying troops in Portland, Oregon’s attorney general tells us in an interview that Trump’s lawless threats are working against him—and discusses what comes next.
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