No, They Are Not There to "Help"

The Portland moms were hit with CS gas overnight, as federal officials refuse to remove “heavy” force presence https://t.co/lyC0oj6Zlu

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) July 20, 2020

The federal not-that-secret-anymore-police in Portland are not wanted, aren't trained for riot control, are causing bodily harm to nonviolent protesters, and have tear-gassed non-violently protesting women, some of whom were visibly pregnant. Their presence makes the situation more fraught, not less and renews interest in the ongoing protest, not decreasing it.

If this were a test-case to see what a full roll-out of such "help" nationwide would be like, I'd suggest that it was a failure and the Trump Administration should bag it. But it isn't supposed to help. I don't know what Trump wants from visions of "American carnage" under his watch, but he seems set on having them. He's a disgrace and so is his little jumped-up non-confirmed security spiv, Chad. I don't know if this is a prelude for some kind of shenanigans in the street in November, or if Trump is once again just trying to be seen "doing something" so as not to appear hapless.

But I'm pretty well convinced that actual "help" was not the big idea around this decision.