Trump calls protesters 'animals' for toppling statues

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

ANKARA (AA) - US President Donald Trump blasted on Monday the protesters in Portland, Oregon who toppled statues of former presidents, urging for federal law enforcement action.

"The Radical Left fools in Portland don't want any help from real Law Enforcement which we will provide instantaneously. Vote!" Trump said on Twitter, sharing the scenes of riots.

Calling for immediate arrest for those responsible, he blamed his Democratic rival Joe Biden.

"Put these animals in jail, now. The Radical Left only knows how to take advantage of very dumb 'leadership' fools. This is Biden! Law & Order!" Trump said in another tweet. "Portland, call in the Feds!"

Statues of Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln were toppled Sunday night by a group of protesters. They also damaged the entrance to the Oregon Historical Society.

The event took place hours before Columbus Day, which is marked by the protesters as an "Indigenous Peoples Day of Rage," claiming that the arrival of Christopher Columbus, the 15th-century Italian explorer, to the continent increased violence against the natives.

The US has been celebrating the day as an official federal holiday since 1937.

US State Secretary Mike Pompeo offered his congratulations to the Spanish people on the National Day, saying: "Our relationship with Spain extends far beyond government-to-government connections, with extensive cultural and personal ties from our shared history."

Hispanic Day (Dia de la Hispanidad) or National Day (Fiesta Nacional de Espana) is an annual national public holiday in Spain on October 12. It commemorates when Columbus first set foot in the Americas in 1492.