CNN reporter blasted for tweet downplaying Portland violence: 'The city is not under siege'

CNN correspondent Josh Campbell was slammed over a tweet downplaying the violence that has taken place in Portland, Oregon.

In recent weeks, President Trump has been butting heads with Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, whose city has seen over 90 consecutive days of protests, with roughly two dozen of them declared "riots" by local law enforcement.

Campbell, who has been reporting from Portland, appeared dismissive of the unrest that has taken place there, sharing an early-morning photograph of a quiet park he visited.

Good morning from wonderful Portland, where the city is not under siege and buildings are not burning to the ground," Campbell wrote. "I also ate my breakfast burrito outside today and so far haven’t been attacked by shadowy gangs of Antifa commandos."

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The "shadowy gangs" quip was likely in reference to recent remarks made by President Trump, who claimed on Monday that "people that are in the dark shadows" were behind the violent demonstrations.

Campbell's tweet sparked a backlash on social media.

"lol this is the most hilarious thing 'journalists' do -- find a nice little corner in the morning where there are no fires or chaos and say 'nothing to see here!' Why don't you come back after dark, cupcake. Someone was literally executed there a few days ago," Blaze Media's Jason Howerton said.

"This imbecile used to work for the FBI," The Spectator USA editor Amber Athey wrote, referring to Campbell's tenure working for James Comey before joining CNN.

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"Privilege is knowing your business won’t be burnt to the ground by violent rioters. Hubris is thinking your experience must be the same as everyone else’s. This tweet has both!" tweeted Erielle Davidson, a senior policy analyst at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America.

"They think you’re stupid," Grabien Media founder and news editor Tom Elliott wrote.

Campbell later shot back at his critics, suggesting many of them are "Russian bots."

"Observation: If you want to trigger some people (and Russian bots) on this website, tweet out actual images of Portland that counter the false narrative "the entire city is ablaze all the time" with mere hours to go before the raging inferno levels the city," the CNN correspondent wrote.

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Campbell appears to not be on the same page as his network colleagues. Last week, CNN colleague Don Lemon urged Joe Biden to address the violence that has plagued cities, warning that President Trump was benefiting politically in the polls. CNN analyst April Ryan accused Trump of fomenting a "race war" in America.