Trump and aides now call anti-ICE protests in cities like Portland an “insurrection.”

Question

"President Donald Trump and his top aides are using the word 'insurrection' more frequently to describe anti-ICE protests in places like Portland," writes Zachary B. Wolf. https://cnn.it/4pWYmzr

Answer 1

My findings show that yes Donald Trump is using the word "insurrection", a violent uprising against an a government, to describe the anti-ICE protests in Portland. Trump claims he would consider invoking the insurrection act, which hasn't been used since the 1992 Los Angeles riots. 

My primary sources used are "What is the Insurrection Act?" by Zachary B Wolf from CNN (https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/06/politics/insurrection-act-trump-portland-chicagoexplainerDate=20251007&Profile=CNN&utm_content=1759807484&utm_medium=social&utm_source=bluesky, which describes the Insurrection Act as a "law that allows the deployment of troops in to the US in certain limited situations". Trump states he is not afraid of sending US troops into Portland and will do it if needed. I also used "Trump floats invoking the Insurrection Act" by Zoe Richards from NBC news (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-floats-invoking-insurrection-act-rcna236030) which dives into the topic of Trump speaking on federalizing troops in democratic-run cities. It also tells us that an Oregon federal judge blocked the Trump administration deploying the California National Guard. Some possible biases from my sources could be the fact that CNN has had some criticism from more conservative media for having "a perceived left wing bias" but also has been criticized for support of conservative opinions. NBC news has also been known for primarily broadcasting liberal leaning political commentary.

Both sources reveal that yes trump has been using the word insurrection to describe the protests taking place in Portland. A direct quote from trump states "If you take a look at what's been going on in Portland, it's been going on for a long time, and that insurrection. I mean thats pure insurrection". This quote clearly highlights the way Trump thinks about these protests and clearly calls them insurrection. On the other hand he mentions that while the Insurrection is there for a reason he actually believes it is not necessary yet. He says if people were being killed and courts were holding us up or governors or mayors were holding us up, sure, I'd do that". So yes Trump has been using insurrection to describe what has been taking place in Portland but doesn't deem it necessary to invoke the Insurrection Act. 

  

 

Answer 2

Trump and his supporters have begun to refer to protests in major cities, such as Portland, insurrections. This action is motivated by Trump’s desire to invoke the Insurrection Act. 

The Insurrection Act, according to the Brennan Center for Justice, would allow the president, Donald Trump, to deploy U.S. Military to locations within the U.S. to suppress rebellion or domestic violence. 

According to multiple sources, such as The New York Times, Trump as shown agitation towards democratic government officials showing pushback against the deployment of ICE officials into democratic states. According to the The New York Times, Trump has sued Denver and Colorado over their immigration policies that oppose Trump’s personal agenda regarding immigration. NBC News states that when the President believes protests, rebellion, or assemblages prevent the enforcement of the federal law, he can call the use of militia of any state or the use of armed forces to suppress said rebellion. 

Between all sources, President Trump uses the Insurrection Act as a threat to democratic states that don’t obey his agenda, therefore persuading him to be less conservative with the word “insurrection.” Although there is controversy as to whether he is rightfully describing anti-ICE protests as insurrections- disregarding the meaning of the word, it is true that is the word he is using to describe these cities. 

Answer 3

After reviewing multiple online sources, I've found this statement to be true, Trump has used the word 'insurrection' a number of times while referring to Portland and the anti-ICE protests taking place there. He's mentioned putting the insurrection act into effect even though it might not seem necessary to do so.  
My primary sources for this statement are  New York Times Live Updates: "The president said he would consider using the Insurrection Act to bypass attempts to block National Guard deployments in Chicago and Portland, Ore. The governor of Illinois, JB Pritzker, called the mobilization “an unconstitutional invasion.” 

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10/06/us/national-guard-trump-oregon-chicago

I also looked into CNN's 'What is the insurrection act?' by Zachary B. Wolf which talks about what the insurrection act entails and has the following quote from Donald Trump: " “We have an Insurrection Act for a reason,” Trump said Monday. “If I had to enact it, I’d do that. If people were being killed, and courts were holding us up, or governors or mayors were holding us up, sure I do that.”  The law allows the deployment of troops in the US in certain limited situations. First passed in 1792, it was last tweaked in 1871. "

https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/06/politics/insurrection-act-trump-portland-chicago-explainer
CNN is known to be more left leaning when it comes to political topics so that could leave room for bias in reporting on Trump and the things he's doing. NYT has also been said to have similar left leaning tendencies in covering political media. 
The quotes my sources used come directly from Donald Trump, which supports the idea that he has been talking about these things and leaves out the question of it being rumored talk. 
The fact I've mainly seen coverage on this topic by left leaning news sources than right could open some speculation on whether this is a serious issue or not, but what I can gather from my own research is that though he's used the word insurrection to describe the integrity of Portland, it would be unnecessary to invoke that act. Two quotes from Portland governer, Tina Kotek: "I will just say, on Sunday yesterday, we had hundreds of people, thousands of folks in downtown Portland running the Portland Marathon. This is not a war zone. We don't have a challenge here in terms of managing lawful demonstrations outside the ICE building. And I believe that they are looking back at information from 2020 and assuming this is the same. Look, lawful demonstrations happen in the city of Portland outside of this facility. It is being managed. What I'm seeing and what we're seeing and what the mayor is seeing on the ground is an escalation from the agents who are protecting the building, trying to antagonize those protesters who are there."

"And what President Trump is trying to do is an abuse of power. And it is a threat to our democracy. Governors should be in command of their National Guards, our citizens soldiers who sign up to stand up in an emergency to deal with real problems."

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/oregon-governor-calls-trumps-actions-an-abuse-of-power-and-threat-to-our-democracy