Portland’s latest spectacle should be a wake-up call for Americans who still believe urban liberalism equals competence. What started as peaceful protest activity around the ICE field office has become a running circus that national media and activists have turned into performance art rather than a serious policy debate. The so-called “No Kings” demonstrations sweeping parts of the country have a flagship in Portland, and locals are watching their city’s reputation be traded for viral content.
If you needed evidence that the left prefers theater to governance, look no further than the inflatable costumes and mascot-era antics now celebrated as resistance. Reporters have documented protesters in frog, chicken and T. rex suits — not as clever satire but as part of an organized tactic to win social media likes instead of persuading voters. When civic discourse devolves into a costume party, it’s no wonder neighborhoods suffer while elites cheer from downtown cafes.
Meanwhile federal authorities and ICE find themselves in the absurd position of running a detention facility while being the villains in this production. Videos of confrontations and agents removing protesters — sometimes captured and reshared endlessly online — feed the narrative that Portland is ungovernable, even as local officials shrug. Whether you side with law enforcement or civil liberties, the spectacle of being wheeled away on a flatbed while activists cheer isn’t the image of a city solving real problems.
The surreal turns even stranger when you hear the soundtrack: chants and songs at these events that accuse President Trump of being tied to the Epstein files, played proudly for onlookers and visiting political figures. Even high-level visits to the ICE site have been accompanied by music and taunts instead of sober conversation about policy and public safety. It’s performative outrage dressed up as moral clarity, and the country shouldn’t confuse volume for virtue.
The arrests and confrontations are no accident of escalation; some activists use spectacle to bait authorities into headlines, and when the predictable happens they cash in on martyrdom claims. One performer-activist arrested in a full animal costume has already announced legal action after a dramatic arrest outside the facility, which only underscores how this is now a media-opera more than a protest movement. Meanwhile, taxpayers and neighbors pick up the tab for the downtown decay these gatherings never honestly address.
So when a costumed protester goes on a rant about presidents and conspiracy-laden files and then casually drops “I’m a doctor” into the monologue, reasonable Americans are justified in asking if there are any serious people left in Portland’s power circles. Credential inflation doesn’t mean competency; throwing on a stethoscope or a mask doesn’t turn ideology into expertise. When medical professionals trade standards for slogans, it damages trust in real caregivers and mocks the oath they took.
Hardworking Americans need leaders who prioritize order, public safety, and common-sense policy over viral moments and performative outrage. Portland’s political class should stop enabling the circus and start rebuilding streets, supporting businesses, and enforcing laws that protect citizens. If conservatives want to win hearts and ballots, point to the contrast: responsible governance versus the carnival on the waterfront — and ask voters which future they prefer.
