Trump says Portland is ‘burning’ but people who live in the city disagree

Portland is currently at the center of the national imagination. It seems like barely a day goes by without President Donald Trump referring to the city as a war zone.

On Sunday, the president told reporters: “Portland is burning to the ground.”

But what is life like for the vast majority of Portlanders who don’t live across the street from the city’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility?

The Oregonian/OregonLive visited parks around Portland on Monday and Tuesday and asked Portlanders: “How have the Immigration and Customs Enforcement protests impacted your daily life?” and “What would you like people outside of Portland to know about the city?”

Here is some of what they told us.

Brian Lee, Mt. Tabor

“[My mom] FaceTimed me yesterday because she was really concerned about, in the media, how they portray Portland,” Lee said, adding that his mom told him, “I cannot believe we moved to America and this is happening in America.”

Lee is from Virginia and is a naturalized U.S. citizen, born in South Korea.

After seeing the news, he said his mom told him, “Honey, always carry your passport.”

To Lee, “There’s no war-torn situation in Portland.”

Instead, he said, “Portland is doing great.”

“We’re very community-oriented,” he added, “and I think that’s a big power in this era right now that we’re experiencing, so always, communicate with your closest friends, family, community, and start from there.”

Ben Dickmeyer, Cathedral Park

“On the day-to-day,” Dickmeyer said, “it hasn’t really disrupted my life at all. They’re pretty centralized to around the ICE facility.”

However, he added, they affect him on “an emotional level.”

“Portland’s a nice place,” he said. “It’s not full of demons and evil people.”

“It’s really nice here,” Dickmeyer added. “It’s not a war zone hellscape, as it’s often described.”

“There’s a lot of really nice and kind people here,” he said, “and people who just try to see people for who they are.”

Uli Haveron, Mt. Tabor

Haveron has lived in Portland for 20 years and she calls it “a beautiful place to live.”

The protests haven’t affected her daily life, she said, “Except that I get disturbed when I read things on the news about how demonstrators are being treated, and sometimes when I hear about protesters occasionally doing things that are maybe inflammatory.”

She would tell people outside of the city, “that it’s very peaceful. It’s a great place to live, and people are kind, and there’s absolutely no threat from within.”

Alex Ellison, Lents Park

Ellison actually lives about an hour away from Portland, but comes to town often. He said most of his experience with the protest has been on social media.

“I do personally have friends who have attended some of the protests,” he said, “and they’re just like, it’s a joke.”

His friends, he said, say that protesters are peaceful until they are provoked.

As far as what he wishes people knew about Portland? “It’s not a war zone,” Ellison said.

Bill Dunne, Washington Park Rose Garden

Dunne doesn’t live near the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility but, he said, “I feel sorry for the people that do live down there because it is impacting their lives.”

“It brings a lot of noise and dirt and garbage and people screaming at all hours of the night,” he said.

He called himself a “law and order” person, but said he has been near the facility and doesn’t think the National Guard needs to get involved.

“It’s not even close to being out of hand,” Dunne said.

He was more concerned with city-level crime, like small businesses being broken into.

Still, he said, “I think Portland is a wonderful city.”

From a bench at the Washington Park Rose Garden he said, “I think you’d be hard-pressed to go across America and find parks like this, that’s so well kept and so well run.”

Carla Manuel, Cathedral Park

“I’m worried about my fellow citizens,” Manuel said.

“It’s really wonderful to see allies out there that are non-people of color that are actually standing up for those who don’t have a voice,” she added.

As for what Portland is really like, she said, “Our city is the most calm, most egalitarian city ever.”

And, she said, one of the things that makes Portland so great is the immigrants who live here.

Collin Kane, Washington Park Rose Garden

Kane was walking his dog Juniper in the Washington Park Rose Garden. When asked how the protests have affected his life, Kane said, simply, “They haven’t.”

And regarding Portland, he said, “It’s a great place.”

Margo and George Ketz, Mt. Tabor

The Ketzes have lived in Portland for 25 years and consider it a peaceful city.

The main impact of the protests on them, Margo Ketz said, is on “our mental outlook.”

They have a grandson who works in Chicago and the stories coming out of that city are concerning, she said.

“I kind of laugh when they say Portland is burning,” Ketz said, “because I think, ‘Well, the only thing that’s burning are the barbecues in the evening.’”

“And in terms of the ICE protest, it’s what, 2 square blocks?” she added.

Fonso McGee, Lents Park

From a picnic table in Lents Park, McGee said he approves of the protesting, but he doesn’t protest himself or even go to the area of the protest.

“I appreciate the young people to doing everything they can, supporting America by telling America, this is an immigrant country,” he said.

He has lived in Portland for 40 years, he said, and he loves the city.

“This is one of the best places,” McGee said.

Daniel Terry, Tom McCall Waterfront Park

Terry was sitting in the sun at Tom McCall Waterfront Park.

He said what he loves about Portland is the openness of people and the community.

“I go to Powell’s Books a lot,” Terry said, “and just have hour-long conversations with people.”

When asked how the protest has impacted his life, he said, “I genuinely have never heard of it.”