Dan Rayfield is Oregon\u2019s attorney general \u2014 and the latest state-level politician to be thrust into the national spotlight by a legal clash with the Trump administration. In this instance, it\u2019s over the federal government ordering troops into Portland, where protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement have been deemed rebellion by the president.<\/p>\n
I would invite anybody to come to Oregon and I think it’s pretty clear that there isn’t an invasion going on in Oregon,\u201d Rayfield says. \u201cSometimes I’ll joke the only rebellion going on right now is when I tried to feed my son a vegetable.\u201d<\/p>\n
The AG explained that his opposition to Trump\u2019s proposed deployment is because, in his view, the president\u2019s stated reasons for doing so aren\u2019t based on the facts \u2014 or in the best interest of the people of Oregon.\u201cIf you want to deploy the military, if you want to federalize the National Guard, I’m okay with that if you have the right facts for it.,\u201d Rayfield says. \u201cWe should give any president some deference, but when you have zero facts to base it on, that’s when you’ve got to draw the line.\u201d<\/p>\n
In this week\u2019s episode of The Conversation, Rayfield talks with POLITICO\u2019s Dasha Burns about how he\u2019s trying to defend states rights by fending off the Trump administration\u2019s attempted National Guard incursion in Portland, the reality of what\u2019s happening in the city, freedom of speech and how progressive policies have drawn outside attention to the state in recent years.<\/p>\n
Plus, blogger and activist Vani Hari \u2014 better known as \u201cThe Food Babe\u201d \u2014 joins the show to talk about her influence on HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and how she hopes to help the MAHA agenda become reality.<\/p>\n