'Fanning the flames of hate': Biden slams Trump for 'encouraging violence' in Portland

Joe Biden, the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee, blasted President Donald Trump as having "recklessly" encouraged violence after one man died following clashes in Portland Saturday between members of a pro-Trump vehicle rally and Black Lives Matter protesters.

In a lengthy Sunday afternoon statement, Biden called "the deadly violence" in Portland "unacceptable" and said he condemns "violence of every kind by anyone, whether on the left or the right."

"As a country, we must condemn the incitement of hate and resentment that led to this deadly clash," Biden added. "It is not a peaceful protest when you go out spoiling for a fight. What does President Trump think will happen when he continues to insist on fanning the flames of hate and division in our society and using the politics of fear to whip up his supporters?"

Biden accused Trump of "recklessly encouraging violence" and said while the president "may believe tweeting about law and order makes him strong ... his failure to call on his supporters to stop seeking conflict shows just how weak he is."

"He may think that war in our streets is good for his reelection chances, but that is not presidential leadership — or even basic human compassion," Biden said. "The job of a president is to lower the temperature ... The temperature in the country is higher, tensions run stronger, divisions run deeper. And all of us are less safe because Donald Trump can’t do the job of the American president."

Biden's statement came after Trump praised a caravan of his supporters who moved into Portland Saturday and were filmed spraying protesters with paintballs and what appeared to be pepper spray while the lifted four-wheel-drive trucks were also seen driving through downtown Portland intersections filled with protesters.

Video from the scene also showed protesters hurling projectiles like water bottles at the Trump caravan. Multiple fights were seen breaking our between members of both groups.

Portland police are investigating the shooting death of a man amid those clashes, though it is not immediately clear whether the shooting was directly connected to the skirmishes. A picture from the scene published by Getty Images showed the victim wearing a hat with the Patriot Prayer group's logo. That group, described as far-right by the Southern Poverty Law Center, has previously clashed with protesters in Portland.

In a tweet, Trump shared a video of the pro-Trump caravan driving into Portland and labeled them "GREAT PATRIOTS!" In another tweet, he referred to protesters in Washington, D.C., as "Disgraceful Anarchists" and said, "We are watching them closely."

"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," Trump said in one Twitter post. "The people of Portland won't put up with no safety any longer. The Mayor is a FOOL. Bring in the National Guard!"

The latest violent episode came days after Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, on Tuesday allegedly opened fire during a Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, killing two people. Protests in Kenosha have followed the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, that was captured on video.

Rittenhouse was later arrested and charged with two counts of homicide among other charges in connection to that shooting. On Sunday, Trump liked a post promoting a thread from a Twitter user explaining why "Kyle Rittenhouse is a good example of why I decided to vote for Trump."

Amid all this was the Republican National Convention, where one of the main messages made by Trump and his surrogates is that Americans wouldn't. be safe under a President Biden. Biden and his supporters have countered that the violence currently taking place across the country is happening under Trump's leadership.