Even the Frog Couldn’t Stop Him: Court Gives Trump Authority to Invade Portland

PORTLAND — A federal appeals court ruled Monday that President Trump has the authority to deploy the National Guard to Portland, handing the administration yet another victory in its long campaign to treat peaceful protests like violent rebellions.

The decision effectively ends a brief but spirited wave of demonstrations that had become a local hallmark—crowds in inflatable animal suits meant to prove Portland’s dissent was peaceful, playful, and anything but the “war zone” Trump claimed it to be.

In a 2–1 decision, two Trump-appointed judges sided with the president, concluding that his authority to “restore order” outweighed the city’s right to manage itself. The dissenting judge called the ruling “factually absurd and constitutionally hollow,” a phrase one local noted “could describe Trump’s entire administration at this point.”

Celebrating the verdict, Trump praised the court for its “commitment to law, order, and whatever I say it means now.”

As Oregon’s leaders scramble for an appeal, the people of Portland are left with one bitter truth: in 2025 America, even the most peaceful movement can be trampled by Trump and those willing to help him do it.