President Donald Trump, who is pushing a “law and order” reelection message, appeared to encourage violent retaliation by law enforcement against a suspect in a crime. “This guy was a violent criminal, and the U.S. Marshals killed him. And I’ll tell you something—that’s the way it has to be. There has to be retribution,” he told Fox News host Jeannine Pirro on Saturday, referencing when, earlier this month, federal authorities killed a purported Antifa sympathizer suspected of killing a right-wing counterprotester in Portland.
Federal authorities have said that Michael Forest Reinoehl pulled a gun on the officers apprehending him outside of an apartment complex; however, another witness told the Washington Post that Reinoehl was not clearly armed and that police opened fire without first announcing themselves or trying to arrest him. The witness, who lives in the apartment complex, said Reinoehl was walking to his car when the confrontation ensued, holding his phone and chewing on a piece of candy. From the rally stage in Minden, Nevada on Saturday night, Trump continued to fan the flames, cheering on federal forces involved in the fatal shooting. “By the way, the U.S. Marshals did a great job in Portland. They did a great job…you know what I mean,” he said, drawing applause from the crowd.
Trump’s apparent glee at the killing of Reinoehl—who was never charged with a crime—follows his defending Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old MAGA supporter who was charged with intentional homicide in the killing of two protesters last month in Kenosha, Wisconsin, just days before the Portland shooting. In response to Trump’s comments on Fox News, Rep. Eric Swalwell tweeted that “we need a president who understands the difference between retribution and justice.” Sherrilyn Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, warned: “We are on our way to normalizing the execution of criminal suspects before arrest, trial or conviction.”
In June, Trump vowed “retribution” against protesters for tearing down statues, and earlier this month, said “if somebody is breaking the law, there’s got to be a form of retribution.” His chilling remarks over the weekend come amid a reelection campaign seemingly built on scaring voters into believing that violent Antifa activists are bringing anarchy to the suburbs and that Democratic-run cities are lawless—a message reflected in the campaign’s texts that evening.
As Politico reported, the president attacked Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his campaign for an ad released last week about Trump’s alleged disparagement of military service members, a TV spot capitalizing on comments reported by The Atlantic that he has continued to come under fire for. Trump called Biden “a pathetic human being” for allowing the ad to happen before informing his supporters of the silver lining. “But you know the good part? Now I can be really vicious. Once I saw that ad, I don’t have to be nice anymore,” he warned.