Washington – US President Donald Trump has defended supporters for their alleged roles in recent deadly street clashes.
He suggested a teen accused of killing two in Wisconsin last week and Trump fans involved in clashes in Oregon on Saturday had acted in self-defence.
Trump said Joe Biden, his Democratic challenger in the 3 November election, had not specifically disavowed far-left activists accused of civil disorder. The violence has come amid widespread, largely peaceful anti-racism protests.
Biden, currently leading in opinion polls ahead of the election, has spoken out against violence, accusing Trump of causing the divisions that have stoked it.
At Monday’s White House news conference, Trump blamed Biden and his allies for violence in cities run by Democratic mayors and governors.
Trump was asked by a reporter whether he would condemn Trump supporters who had fired paint pellets during a confrontation with counter-supporters at the weekend in Portland, Oregon.
He described the protest as “peaceful” and said paint was “a defensive mechanism, paint is not bullets”.
He told reporters: “Your supporters, and they are your supporters indeed, shot a young gentleman who – and killed him, not with paint but with a bullet. And I think it’s disgraceful.”
