trump drops National Guard deployment in Portland, other cities

Published 11:20 am Friday, January 2, 2026

By JONATHAN BACH, MAXINE BERNSTEIN / oregonlive.com

by JONATHAN BACH, MAXINE BERNSTEIN
oregonlive.com

President Donald Trump on Wednesday abandoned his push to deploy the National Guard to three U.S. cities, including Portland.

In a social media post that railed against Democratic mayors and governors of left-leaning cities, Trump left the door open to future federal intervention.

“We are removing the National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland, despite the fact that CRIME has been greatly reduced by having these great Patriots in those cities, and ONLY by that fact,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

“We will come back, perhaps in a much different and stronger form, when crime begins to soar again – Only a question of time!” Trump continued.

Trump on Sept. 27 authorized sending federal troops to Oregon to protect what he described as “War ravaged Portland.” The presidentS declaration touched off months of loud but largely nonviolent protests between demonstrators and federal officers tasked with protecting the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in South Portland.

Although the president said Wednesday he was “removing” the National Guard from Portland and attributed a drop in crime in the city to their presence, the only reported instance of members of the Oregon National Guard at the Portland IC

Portland Protests of 2025: A Year of Unconventional Demonstrations

Portland, Oregon, became a focal point for protest activity throughout 2025, marked by demonstrations that often blended political activism with striking displays of unconventionality.The year saw a series of events that garnered national attention, ranging from confrontations at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility to a rain-soaked, and surprisingly impactful, Naked Bike Ride.

In early October, a protest outside the ICE facility went viral after a federal agent deployed chemical spray into the air vent of a protester dressed in a frog costume. The image, quickly circulated online, became a symbol of the escalating tensions between protesters and law enforcement. The “spicy tamales” comment from the frog protester further fueled the online conversation.

Later that month, more than a thousand cyclists protested efforts to send in the national Guard by participating in an “emergency” Naked Bike Ride – in the rain. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson responded that the bike ride was “the most threatening thing I’ve seen yet.”

Levity outside the ICE facility belied impacts to nearby apartment residents affected by secondhand tear gas exposure, and also concerns regarding the well-being of families impacted by ICE actions.