Trump, and the GOP, knows that implying Portland is in chaos gives the rest of the state more motivation to vote for Trump. It's as simple as that. Problem is, the rest of the state already votes (usually) red, and it has little impact on the state results. Chances of them siphoning off 200K votes to swing the state are slim.
I think it's a broader issue for Trump and the right than Oregon's paltry electoral votes. It's more about painting a picture that Democrats can't be counted on to maintain law and order, that they'll allow anarchy and will let the country's history and heritage to be torn down and "tarnished" for the sake of appeasing the party's lefty loons.
Law and order has always been a focal point of elections, mainly by Republicans. Clinton finally caught on when he was elected. In Iowa, we are getting bombarded with the commercial where the police phone lines are going unanswered due to defunding the police...it's annoying.
‘Blatant abuse of power’: DHS chief deploys troops to Portland against the wishes of governor and mayor He's really called "Chad Wolf"?
I'm long out of patience with the rioting and damage, so I have little sympathy with those guilty getting nailed by LE. but I just can't condone unidentified federal agents grabbing people off the streets, loading them in unmarked cars, and taking them to undisclosed locations. There's decades of dangerous and frightening precedents showing where this leads. And with a lawless jackass at the top of the federal food-chain, this becomes doubly dangerous.
This is my crazy prediction. The majority of people being swooped up by the feds are protesters but people embedded in the protests to get information. Portland and Oregon mean absolutely shit to Trump. He will never win this state in the election. But Portland is big enough to get national attention. I think we're going to see the feds are going to make an example out of Portland. Mass arrests. Antifa being labeled a terrorist group. Portland is going to be made an example for his base. I mean yes, there has been vandalism not anywhere near the violence that has been going on in other cities. The sudden presence of feds and yesterday's visit by the acting head of Homeland Security means something is up.