Trump presses law and order message as protest turns deadly
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Supporters of President Donald Trump and protesters hold banners as they wait for the motorcade of President Trump outside the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, U.S., August 30, 2020. /AP

Supporters of President Donald Trump and protesters hold banners as they wait for the motorcade of President Trump outside the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, U.S., August 30, 2020. /AP

U.S. President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden traded pre-election barbs Sunday as violent clashes continued to roil the U.S. city of Portland following the fatal shooting of a protestor.

While the U.S. leader tried to characterize Biden as weak on crime, his opponent accused Trump of fanning the flames of violence in a polarized and tense nation.

Saturday's shooting during a pro-Trump rally in the Oregon city followed a week of country-wide protests – including the cancellation of numerous sporting events – over the police shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin of African American Jacob Blake.

The violence in Portland erupted during a rally involving hundreds of vehicles "caravaning throughout downtown Portland," police said. OregonLive reported "clashes" and "tense moments" between demonstrators and counter-protestors.

Photographs from the scene showed the victim wearing a hat with a logo for "Patriot Prayer," described by local media as a far-right group at the center of multiple Portland demonstrations that have ended in violence.

By 10 pm Sunday local time, about 100 to 150 anti-racism protestors had gathered outside a police building to the east of the city center, waving signs and occasionally throwing projectiles.

Police hold back a man who was with the victim of a fatal shooting in Portland. /AFP

Police hold back a man who was with the victim of a fatal shooting in Portland. /AFP

Police declared the gathering an illegal assembly and in a tweet ordered people to leave the scene, warning of arrests and the use of tear gas.

Videos posted online showed about 20 officers rushing from the building to clear the area, and arresting a handful or protestors.

Trump unleashed a flurry of tweets and retweets the day after a man identified as a supporter of a right-wing group was shot and killed in Portland , and praised the caravan participants as "GREAT PATRIOTS!" and retweeted what appeared to be the dead man's name along with a message to "Rest in peace."

Democrats accused Trump of trying to inflame racial tensions and incite violence to benefit his campaign after he praised supporters who clashed with protesters during a deadly night in Portland, Oregon. 

Trump is expected to continue to hit that theme when he travels Tuesday to Kenosha, Wisconsin, where tensions are still raw after police shot Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, in the back seven times, leaving him paralyzed. The shooting has ignited new demonstrations against racial injustice and police brutality months after George Floyd's death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer touched off a wider reckoning on race.

'Law and order'

Violence connected to anti-racism protests has become a major issue in the campaign for November's presidential election, with Trump presenting himself as the "law and order" choice and arguing that a Biden presidency would allow left-wing mob rule.

Biden condemned the violence and argued that Trump had played a role in spurring the clashes.

Protesters hold banners as they wait for the motorcade of President Trump outside the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, U.S., August 30, 2020. /AP

Protesters hold banners as they wait for the motorcade of President Trump outside the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, U.S., August 30, 2020. /AP

"He is recklessly encouraging violence," the Democratic nominee said in a statement.

"He may believe tweeting about law and order makes him strong – but his failure to call on his supporters to stop seeking conflict shows just how weak he is."

The president has repeatedly threatened to send federal government forces into the west coast city if Mayor Ted Wheeler does not crack down.

Trump attacked Wheeler, a Democrat, for refusing help from the National Guard, which he said "could solve these problems in less than one hour."

"Wheeler is incompetent, much like Sleepy Joe Biden," Trump tweeted. "This is not what our great Country wants. They want Safety & Security, and do NOT want to Defund our Police!"

Wheeler blasted Trump in a press conference Sunday, saying that for nearly four years Americans have had to tolerate what the mayor called Trump's racist attacks on blacks, sexist talk about women, insults toward immigrants and journalists, and now, toward mayors of major U.S. cities.

Wheeler had shared an open letter to Trump on Friday in which he said "we know you've reached the conclusion that images of violence or vandalism are your only ticket to re-election."

"But... when you encourage the disdain for the police you encourage criminals," he told CNN.

"When you do little or nothing to stop rioting, you encourage anarchy. People's lives are lost."

(With input from agencies)