Portland mayoral candidate and left-wing activist Sarah Iannarone spoke out in a tense interview with Fox News host Jesse Watters on Saturday night’s “Watters’ World.”
Iannarone, an avowed supporter of antifa, will face Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler in a November 3 runoff election to decide who the next mayor will be as riots and demonstrations continue to rock the city.
Watters began the interview by asking if Iannarone condemned the shooter who killed the Trump supporter in Portland last week.
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“Listen, all violence is wrong no matter who does it,” she responded.
Asked about what she would do as mayor of Portland, Iannarone seemed to link Wheeler with President Donald Trump, calling them “incompetent businessmen” who are “running us into the ground.”
“But what are you going to do in Portland to straighten things out?” Watters asked.
“Listen, I’m going to demand equal enforcement of the law,” she responded. “If Trump wants to hold every vandal responsible for graffiti, then we should hold Trump responsible pissing all over the Constitution.”
“So you’re not really running against Ted Wheeler,” the Fox News host observed. “You’re running against Donald Trump.”
The Fox News host continued to press Iannarone on her links to antifa and why she calls herself “the antifa mayor.”
“Because it’s good to oppose fascism,” Iannarone responded. “Americans want to live without fear, and what we’re seeing now is that Portland’s current mayor is more focused on Donald Trump than on listening to the people of his city and reigning in his police force.”
“But Ted Wheeler is not a fascist and you’re running him out of town and you’re destroying all these businesses that aren’t run by fascists so why are you committing all the violence or why are your bands of supporters committing violence?” Watters asked.
“Why are you saying that I’m committing violence?” she responded. “These people, I don’t control these people. They don’t answer to me. Meanwhile, the police answer to Ted Wheeler and police brutality is the wrong response to protests about police brutality. And violence among the police is what begets the violence in the streets. Kenosha begets Portland.” (RELATED: ‘This Is Joe Biden’s Base, And He Needs To Disavow Them’: Rand Paul Blasts Biden For Blaming Violence On Trump)
When asked about antifa association being “a bad look considering the fact that they’ve destroyed countless cities and businesses,” the Portland mayoral candidate took issue with the premise.
“In fact I love my city and my country enough to come on here and discuss this with you knowing that I’m gonna get murder and rape threats for doing so,” she said. “Because it’s that important to me that we remind Americans that black lives matter. I’m a progressive mom. I’m a small business owner.”
Watters ended the tense interview by stating he wasn’t “sure” if he was going to wish her luck.”
“I mean, he’s bad, and I don’t know if you’re much better, but we’ll let the people of Portland decide, and have a safe and secure race, OK?” he said.
“Have a good afternoon, bye bye,” Iannarone responded.