'The View' co-hosts accuse Trump of 'fascism' in Portland, Behar claims 'Putin's plan' is being followed

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Joy Behar accuses Trump of following Putin's 'plan' for US division on 'The View'

'The View' co-host says President Trump's decision to send federal law enforcement into American cities is part of Putin's plan which the Mueller report described as wanting to divide the U.S. and cause 'race wars.'

"The View" co-hosts argued on Tuesday that President Trump was ushering in fascism and the end of democracy by sending federal forces to intervene in ongoing protests in Portland, Ore.

"I'm witnessing fascism in America now," co-host Joy Behar said. "I don't know if people in this country are aware of what's actually going on."

"I was talking to one of my cousins the other day, she's not a right-winger, she's not even a Republican — she did not know about what was happening in Portland. People need to pay attention. This is the beginning of the end of democracy. If we reelect this guy, I don't even want to think about what will happen to this country."

She later suggested that Trump was following Russian President Vladimir Putin's "plan" for racial division in the country.

"I was going to say, didn't it say in the Mueller report that Putin was trying to divide the country and to have race wars in this country, I believe that was part of the Mueller report."

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She added that "this is part of Putin's plan that Trump is going along with."

Co-host Whoopi Goldberg said that the situation felt like "a planned attack against the American people — and it's very specific and it's very targeted."

Co-host Sunny Hostin similarly likened recent interventions to fascism and argued that Trump was violating protesters' constitutional rights.

"Every American should really be concerned when you have a U.S. president deploying federal troops under the pretext of protecting federal property from vandalism – which essentially is just graffiti – and using that pretext to use violence against people that are protesting, which is our right, our constitutional right under the Constitution," Hostin said.

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"And using that as a pretext and ratcheting up the violence and then, you know, arresting people with secret police," she comtinued, "just arresting people in unmarked cars, this is something, as Joy said — this is the beginning of fascism, this is something that you see in dictatorships."

Their criticism piled onto those from Oregon politicians who decried things like unmarked vehicles and accused federal customs and border forces of not identifying themselves.

Both Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Portland police have indicated that the protests included violent behavior. For example, Portland Police reported that protesters broke into the Portland Police Association building on Saturday and started a fire.

During a Fox News appearance on Saturday, acting CBP Chief Mark Morgan accused protesters of planning acts of violence against officers.

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"What's happening right now are absolute criminals. They are willfully organizing, planning and coordinating, and preparing themselves and bringing weapons to these areas with the intent to destroy federal property and harm federal agents and officers. That is criminal and that cannot be justified," he told Fox News host Neil Cavuto.

He added that law enforcement was engaging in "standard procedure" and that the tactics were "absolutely necessary" given the situation.

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"It's a standard tactic for law enforcement officers to use unmarked cars. ... Neil, it's been on your show, where marked vehicles have actually been attacked by criminals, so it just makes sense for the safety of the officers and agents as well as the protesters," he said.

"They go out, they have reasonable suspicion or probable cause that these individuals have committed a federal crime by destroying federal property, or intentionally trying to physically harm a federal agent or officer, and they are going out and they are absolutely trying to apprehend those individuals," Morgan added.