When President Donald Trump told reporters on Sept. 5 he'd started looking at sending the National Guard to Portland, Oregon, he said it was because of something he saw on television. He said the city was being destroyed by paid agitators. "What they've done to that place, it's like living in hell," he said, a comment that became an internet meme as some Portland residents juxtaposed it with tranquil images of the city. The evening before, on Sept. 4, Fox News aired a two-and-a-half-minute segment spotlighting protests outside a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Portland. Similar footage aired the morning of Trump's remarks. The president went on to announce Sept. 27 on Truth Social that he would send troops, saying that he was "authorizing Full Force, if necessary." He later said he'd told Oregon's governor, Tina Kotek, that "unless they're playing false tapes, this looked like World War II. Your place is burning down."