White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday confirmed that the Trump Administration will appeal a Trump-appointed judge’s decision in a tense exchange with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.
Collins attempted to suggest that the President’s view that National Guard troops are necessary is inconsistent with what is happening on the ground in Portland, and Leavitt destroyed her.
As The Gateway Pundit reported, Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) on Saturday, barring President Trump’s deployment of the Oregon National Guard in Portland, and blasted Trump, claiming that the move could cause a constitutional crisis.
The President responded to the judge’s ruling on Sunday morning, condemning the judge and noting that he “wasn’t served well” by the people who recommended the judge to him in 2019. He further argued that Portland is “burning to the ground,” warranting his National Guard deployment.
“That Judge ought to be ashamed of themself,” he added.
Watch:
Trump: Well, I disagree with that judge. I wasn’t served well. If they put judges like that on, I wasn’t served well by the people that pick judges, I can tell you. Things like that are just too bad. I appointed the judge and he goes like that, so I wasn’t served well. Obviously, I don’t know the judge, but if he made that kind of a decision— Portland is burning to the ground! You have agitators, insurrectionists, all you have to do is look at the look at the television, turn on your television, read your newspapers. It’s burning to the ground. The governor, the mayor, the politicians are petrified for their lives, and you have a judge like that. That Judge ought to be ashamed of themself.
Immergut then blocked Trump again on Sunday from deploying the National Guard, blocking the President from deploying any National Guard troops to Portland, including troops from other states, as Antifa terrorists lay siege on the city.
Leavitt confirmed to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that the Trump Administration will appeal these rulings, a fight that they already won earlier this year when Trump deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles, California, to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security.
“I think her opinion is untethered in reality and in the law,” Leavitt said, adding, “We are appealing that decision, as you know, we expect a hearing on it pretty quickly, and we’re very confident in the president’s legal authority to do this, and we’re very confident we will win on the merits of the law”
But Collins tried to press Leavitt multiple times, citing local officials in Portland who claimed that they did not need National Guard troops in their city. Leavitt then slammed Collins, challenging her to “go on the ground and to take a look at it for yourself,” while pointing to the journalists who have been attacked numerous times by Antifa thugs in Portland. She further dared Collins to play the videos of anarchy and insurrection on her primetime show on CNN.
When Collins came back, again citing local officials, Leavitt credited the narrative to “partisan Democrat officials who are opposed to everything this president does.” She added, ” You should also ask the people who live in Portland. We’ve actually heard from many members of the community who have said that this is complete civil disobedience, it’s a mess, it’s been loud, it’s been troubling for neighbors in the community, who are just trying to live peacefully. And these people are not there to peacefully protest. They are there to cause mayhem and have it.”
Watch the full exchange below:
Collins: A federal judge over the weekend that the President had appointed to the bench in his first term in office basically argued that he could not deploy other states’ National Guards to Portland, basically said that it was untethered, his argument to what was actually happening on the ground. Which local officials in Portland have said that the National Guard is needed there?
Leavitt: With all due respect to that Judge, I think her opinion is untethered in reality and in the law. The President is using his authority as commander in chief, US code 12 406, which clearly states that the President has the right to call up the National Guard in cases where he deems it’s appropriate. And if you look at what has happened in Portland, Oregon, for more than 100 Nights— I was talking to our law enforcement team about it this morning— for more than 100 days, night after night after night, the ICE facility has been really under siege by these anarchists outside.
They have been disrespecting law enforcement. They’ve been inciting violence. We saw, again, a guillotine rolled out in front of this federal building. And so, the President wants to ensure that our federal buildings and our assets are protected, and that’s exactly what he’s trying to do. And ultimately, in the case in Los Angeles that judge ruled in the Ninth Circuit— that panel of judges ruled that those troops could remain and that the President was well within his authority to do so. So, we are appealing that decision, as you know, we expect a hearing on it pretty quickly, and we’re very confident in the president’s legal authority to do this, and we’re very confident we will win on the merits of the law.
Collins:But, no local officials that you can point to that have said, “we need the National Guard?” Because I spoke to the police chief of Portland last week. He said that the President’s claims just don’t match up with what’s happening on the ground.
Leavitt: I would encourage you as a reporter to go on the ground and to take a look at it for yourself because there’s been many members of the press, not press in this room, but independent journalists, some of whom we’ll be inviting to the White House very soon to share their stories because they have been in the middle of these riots, and they have witnessed the anarchy that is taking place night after night. It’s on video. You should play it on your show. You have a great opportunity on prime time on CNN to show your audience—
Collins: But no local officials–
Leavitt: Yeah, but you’re probably talking to partisan Democrat officials who are opposed to everything this president does. You should also ask the people who live in Portland. We’ve actually heard from many members of the community who have said that this is complete civil disobedience, it’s a mess, it’s been loud, it’s been troubling for neighbors in the community, who are just trying to live peacefully. And these people are not there to peacefully protest. They are there to cause mayhem and have it.
