Rantz: Democrats push fairy tales about Portland as Trump tackles Antifa violence

Democrats are lying about Portland and left-wing media seems content to amplify their fairy tales. But President Donald Trump is right to send troops to tackle Antifa violence against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

According to Oregon’s Democratic leaders and talking heads, Portland is practically a Norman Rockwell painting: families riding bikes, kids feeding geese, young professionals sipping oat milk lattes while Instagramming food cart tacos. That’s the image Portland officials want you to buy, even as nearly nightly riots at the ICE facility have turned parts of the city into a warzone since June.

City of officials could have stepped in to quell the violence, but reports show Portland Police Bureau (PBB) recently choosing not to intervene. Now, Democrats who emboldened the violence are pretending it’s not happening.

These people are the absolute worst. He won’t go back at night during the violence. https://t.co/RDmbs9yUNL https://t.co/SrFUQ10mR4 pic.twitter.com/XA7OkHruy8

— Jason Rantz on Seattle Red (@jasonrantz) September 27, 2025

Portland Antifa violence? What violence!?

Senator Ron Wyden proudly tweeted video of the ICE facility (in the middle of the day): “Taken just a few minutes ago outside the ICE facility in Portland that Trump claims is under siege. My message to Donald Trump is this: we don’t need you here. Stay the hell out of our city.”

What Wyden conveniently (and intentionally) left out was that the ICE facility behind him was boarded up like a hurricane was about to hit. Why else would federal officers barricade windows with plywood? Because Portland is “safe and calm,” as Governor Tina Kotek put it? Or because Antifa thugs were showing up after dark with a guillotine, fireworks, and baseball bats?

Even in Wyden’s own propaganda video, you can see the truth he’s trying to conceal: Portland’s ICE building looks like a fortress. That doesn’t happen because geese are being fed too aggressively at a nearby farmer’s market.

Portland, Ore. — This anti-ICE Antifa flyer is on display at the Stumptown Coffee Roasters @stuumptoownn on 45th and Division. Far-left extremists have been besieging the ICE facility for months. pic.twitter.com/3G0vFaAzRQ

— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) September 26, 2025

Daytime coffee, nighttime chaos

This gaslighting has been the Democrats’ playbook for years. Portland’s official account actually tweeted: “We are hearing a lot about our hometown in the media. This is our Portland today: people visiting Saturday Market, feeding geese, sipping espresso, biking, playing in the park, and going to food carts.”

Yes, that’s Portland at noon on a sunny weekend. By 10 p.m., though, the same city looks more like a scene from a dystopian film.

Protesters light fires outside the ICE facility, federal officers are forced to deploy crowd-control munitions, and arrests pile up. Six protesters were federally charged for assaulting officers and disobeying lawful orders. At least three more were arrested by Portland Police for criminal activity tied to ICE protests. This is not “safe and calm.” This is chaos.

Activists face federal charges for their violence. Samuel Berry, 29, and Juniper Weed, 21, were accused of assaulting officers at one of the totally-peaceful assemblies. Prosecutors note that during one totally-peaceful rally in June, agitators blocked the facility’s vehicle gate to stop ICE agents from leaving. Andrew Beason, 53, and Nokomis Lee, 22, have been charged with failing to obey lawful orders to stop blocking the gate. At the same event, Eduardo Diaz Guardado, 22, was charged with assaulting a federal officer after PPB say he was shining a “powerful laser” at agents.

But Portland Democrats never show you this. They point the camera toward a park during the day and hope you don’t notice that federal buildings are barricaded at night.

Nicholas Kristof’s pinot noir fantasy

Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times played along too. He tweeted: “Portland has its problems but it is not the ‘hell’ Trump claims; it remains a food-and-wine heaven. ‘Hell’ does not serve Pinot Noir this good.”

Really? That’s the defense? A decent glass of wine cancels out broken windows, graffiti, arson attempts, and violent clashes with police? Kristof actually admits Portland “has its problems” — but then suggests Trump is only highlighting them to distract from “Epstein files” and “tariffs.” It’s a laughably shallow argument.

In June, tensions escalated to the point where the Portland Police Bureau declared a riot, and made three arrests linked to “criminal activity near the ICE building.”

No, Nicholas, Pinot Noir doesn’t erase lawlessness. Try telling business owners whose storefronts were smashed that they should feel better because Oregon’s wine country is thriving.

The Gaslighting Campaign: rinse, wash, repeat

In 2020, following the Antifa riots, we were told of “mostly peaceful protests,” as fires burned behind the fools who were reporting the peace. We’re seeing the exact same script.

The coordinated messaging from Wyden, Kotek, Kristof, and Portland’s city government isn’t accidental. They’re not blind to the boarded-up buildings and the arrests. They’re deliberately lying to cover for Antifa and far-left agitators who wreak havoc in their city.

The ICE facility is proof. You don’t board up a building because tourists are too enthusiastic about food carts. You board it up because radicals are smashing windows and throwing firebombs.

Democrats think if they keep showing you Portland’s Saturday Market, you’ll ignore the near-nightly riots. But voters aren’t stupid. They see the chaos. They see the boarded windows. And they know Portland is not calm, not safe, and certainly not honest about what’s happening in its streets.

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