In a rare podcast appearance this week, Gov. Tina Kotek slammed U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for making inflammatory remarks about Portland and continuing to push for federal troop deployment to Oregon following Noem’s visit to the area.
The podcast, hosted by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, featured Kotek and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker. In it, Kotek doubled down on her message that the White House has persisted to push for military mobilization based on inaccurate information or outright lies.
“I thought we could have a, you know, reasonable conversation,” Kotek said, speaking of her mindset going into her Tuesday meeting with Noem when the cabinet member arrived in Portland. “But, you know, it’s hard to have a rational conversation with irrational people.”
During that short meeting, held at Portland International Airport Tuesday, Kotek tried to convince Noem that local law enforcement officers were more than capable of controlling any unrest in Portland. But that plea went nowhere, Kotek said during the podcast.
“What I heard from the secretary was: ‘We have the right and with impunity, to be as aggressive with military policing tactics that we want to use, and we don’t care if it upsets people, and we don’t care if it creates more tension and more problems for your city,’” Kotek said. “They literally don’t care.”
Kotek and other Oregon elected officials have scrambled to respond and intervene since President Donald Trump first moved in September to federalize Oregon National Guard troops to clamp down on protestors around the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in South Portland.
Those protests have been loud but mostly non-violent and often involved no more than several dozen people before Trump announced his plans last month, claiming the ICE building and the federal officers working inside it were under siege.
At the crux of the ongoing debate between Oregon leaders and the White House is the current state of Portland and the size and scope of the daily protests. While Trump has recently described Portland as “war-ravaged” and “burning to the ground,” Portland and Oregon officials say those claims are grossly exaggerated and based on inaccurate information.
“Any expert on anything in this country is just perplexed by what they’re trying to say about what is happening in our major cities,” Kotek said on the podcast, recorded Thursday afternoon just hours after Noem slammed Oregon and its elected officials during a televised Trump administration cabinet meeting.
During that meeting, Noem described the officials she met with in Portland as “lying and disingenuous and dishonest people,” adding that her agency would “double down” in the city after state and local leaders rebuffed a series of demands she made during her visit.
On the podcast, Pritzker and Newsom expressed similar concerns about what they described as federal overreach through military mobilization in their home states. In recent months and days, Trump has suggested both of the Democratic governors should be arrested for pushing back on his agenda.
“By the way, J.B., you and I are going to count on Tina to get us out of jail,” Newsom joked during the episode.
“I got your back, I will get you out,” Kotek responded. “I will be there for you.”
“Cake with a file inside would be helpful,” replied Pritzker.
Meanwhile, at least two Trump-appointed judges on a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals appeared ready on Thursday to lift an order barring the Trump administration from sending Oregon National Guard troops to Portland. It’s not clear when the panel will issue its ruling.
Kotek also criticized Noem and federal officials for giving behind-the-scenes access to the ICE facility and her tour of the city to right-wing social media influencers while shutting out local news outlets. During Noem’s visit to Portland, she was accompanied by a trio of conservative influencers in addition to her aides.
“This is a made-for-TV movie that they are producing to try to make a point,” Kotek said.
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