PORTLAND • US President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden traded pre-election barbs on Sunday as violent clashes continued to roil the city of Portland following the fatal shooting of a protester.
While Mr Trump tried to characterise Mr Biden as weak on crime, the latter accused the President of fanning the flames of violence in a polarised and tense nation.
Last Saturday's shooting during a pro-Trump rally in the Oregon city followed a week of countrywide protests - including the cancellation of numerous sporting events - over the police shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin, of African American Jacob Blake.
The violence in the Oregon city erupted during a rally involving hundreds of vehicles "caravaning throughout downtown Portland", police said. OregonLive reported "clashes" and "tense moments" between demonstrators and counter-protesters.
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 centre of multiple Portland demonstrations that have ended in violence.
By 10pm on Sunday, about 100 to 150 anti-racism protesters had gathered outside a police building, waving signs and occasionally throwing projectiles.
Police declared the gathering an illegal assembly and in a tweet ordered people to leave the scene.
Videos posted online showed about 20 officers rushing from the building to clear the area, and arresting a handful of protesters.
The Portland clashes followed unrest in Kenosha, where prosecutors have accused 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse of shooting dead two men and wounding another who were protesting against the shooting of Mr Blake.
Mr Trump is due to travel today to the Midwestern city to meet law enforcement officials and view damage from unrest triggered by Mr Blake's shooting last weekend.
Wisconsin's Governor Tony Evers has sent the President a letter asking him to reconsider the visit as it "will only hinder our healing", according to US media reports.
Violence connected to anti-racism protests has become a major issue in the campaign for November's presidential election, with Mr Trump presenting himself as the "law and order" choice and arguing that a Biden presidency would allow left-wing mob rule.
Mr Biden has condemned the violence and argued that Mr Trump had played a role in spurring the clashes. "He is recklessly encouraging violence," the Democratic presidential 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."
Mr Trump spent Sunday morning tweeting and retweeting dozens of posts purporting to show violence in Democratic-run cities, and especially Portland. He has repeatedly threatened to send federal government forces into the west coast city if Mayor Ted Wheeler does not crack down on the protests.
"Wheeler is incompetent, much like Sleepy Joe Biden," Mr Trump tweeted. "This is not what our great Country wants. They want Safety & Security, and do NOT want to Defund our Police!"
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
