JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Last night, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from deploying hundreds of out-of-state National Guard troops to the city of Portland. This comes after a ruling just the day before barring the White House from sending Oregon's own National Guard to the city. It was the latest response to a flurry of moves by the Trump administration to send military forces to Democratic-led cities. The president argues that military forces are needed to support his crackdown on illegal immigration. Today, the White House filed an emergency appeal to stay the judge's ruling. Oregon's Democratic governor, Tina Kotek, says there is no need for military intervention in her state, and she joins us now. Governor, welcome.
TINA KOTEK: Thank you, Juana. Thanks for having me.
SUMMERS: Thanks for being here. Governor, I'd like to start if we can there with that ruling. Legal challenges are working for now, but those may not hold out. What are your plans if they don't?
KOTEK: Well, I am hoping that the rule of law prevails here. This is not just one ruling by a federal judge in Oregon. It's two rulings. One was about the Oregon National Guard, and the other was about the fact that when the first ruling came out, the Trump administration said, well, maybe we'll send the California National Guard or the Texas National Guard. The judge was very clear. The facts on the ground have to validate a president using this authority. And it's just not true in this situation. And as you've mentioned, the Trump administration is going to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the 9th Circuit, and I assume that those hearings will start shortly, and we'll be watching. But again, this is a tremendous authority that the president has. It must be - must match the facts on the ground. And here in Oregon, it does not. And I think this is a wake-up call for every state.
SUMMERS: OK, I just want to jump in for a second. I think we should hear the president directly what he has had to say about the situation there in Portland. This was when he spoke to reporters on Sunday. Let's listen.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Portland is burning to the ground. It's insurrectionists all over the place. It's antifa. And yet the politicians who are petrified - look, the politicians are afraid for their lives. That's the only reason that they say, like, there's nothing happening.
SUMMERS: Governor Tina Kotek, your response to that?
KOTEK: Oh, it's just ludicrous. You know, we had thousands of people on the streets of Portland for the Portland Marathon yesterday. The city is beautiful. The city is thriving. The protests are in a one-block radius of the ICE facility. And the president - I don't know what information he's using. I don't know what he's watching. I don't know if he's watching something from 2020. It's 2025. City of Portland is safe. Local law enforcement has the situation under control.
SUMMERS: Walk us through briefly, if you can, your specific concerns about increased law enforcement presence or the National Guard potentially being on the street of Portland as President Trump has said he would like to see.
KOTEK: To put military troops in American cities is a threat to our democracy. If you think about the speech that the president gave to the hundreds of generals that were gathered a week or so ago to talk about training our troops in the cities of America - we're not at war with ourselves here. There is not an insurrection or a rebellion, not only in Portland or Chicago or other places. Look, there are challenges. There is lawful demonstrations. Local law enforcement is handling the situation, and I think this is an overreaction to the situation. And it's just not true. Facts should matter.
SUMMERS: Top White House advisor Stephen Miller has described the judge's original restraining order barring the deployment of National Guard troops as a legal insurrection - his words. He went on to say - and I'm quoting here - that "this is an organized terrorist attack on the federal government and its officers." He said that local and state officials have refused to aid ICE officers facing relentless terrorist assault and threats to life. Governor, what did you think when you saw that statement from Stephen Miller?
KOTEK: I don't know what reality he is living in. That is not the situation on the ground in Portland. I have a lot of confidence in the Portland police who have worked very hard to engage and make sure the situation is safe on the ground. What we're seeing is escalation from the federal agents who were there at the facility. They're still able to carry out their work. People can lawfully demonstrate, and I - it's just the situation does not match what they think it is.
SUMMERS: Do you believe that state law enforcement has a responsibility to protect ICE officers who are working to try to carry out their mandate?
KOTEK: I think we have to uphold the rule of law. You know, if there is criminal activity on the ground, people are being held accountable. You know, the facility there is able to operate. And people who have a disagreement with the federal government can be outside that building voicing their concerns. We can do both things. Now, I don't agree with what the Trump administration is doing about ICE enforcement, but they are able to do their job in Oregon, and people are able to lawfully protest. We can do both. And there is not a threat of violence against those officers who are protecting the building. And, you know, I just have to disagree with what the Trump administration thinks the situation is.
SUMMERS: Governor, I'd like to ask you, what have your conversations been like with fellow governors, including Governor JB Pritzker in Illinois, California Governor Gavin Newsom, who I'll note, joined the lawsuit filed by your state. What kind of conversations have you been having with them?
KOTEK: Well, Governor Pritzker and Governor Newsom and I have been keeping in close contact. Everybody's concerned, right? Let's think about the individuals involved here. The National Guard members in all of our states - Republican or Democratic states - are citizen soldiers who step away from their regular day jobs and away from their families to serve the country when they are called up. They should only be used in situations of real problems. And to - I need our guard members here when there is a disaster or there is something else. This is not a real emergency.
Governors are concerned. They are the commanders in chief of their national guards. There's a clear delineation of authority. There's no insurrection. There's no national threat in our cities. And I think it's really important - this is not just about Oregon or blue states. That's obviously where the president is targeted right now. This is about every state. If you were a Republican governor and there was a different president in the White House, would you want this to be happening to your state? Absolutely not. This is a threat to our democracy, and this is not the authority the president should be wielding.
SUMMERS: We have been speaking with Oregon Governor Tina Kotek. Thank you so much.
KOTEK: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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