Democracy Dies in Darkness

Biden accuses Trump of ‘recklessly encouraging violence’ in response to Portland shooting

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August 30, 2020 at 5:04 p.m. EDT
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden speaks during the fourth day of the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 20 in Wilmington, Del. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden condemned the violence in Portland, Ore., accusing President Trump of “fanning the flames of hate and division in our society” and “recklessly encouraging violence.”

“We must not become a country at war with ourselves,” Biden said in a statement. “But that is the America that President Trump wants us to be, the America he believes we are. … All of us are less safe because Donald Trump can’t do the job of the American president.”