Biden slams Trump for 'encouraging violence' in U.S.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden blasted U.S. President Donald Trump as having "recklessly" encouraged violence after a man died following clashes Saturday in Portland, Oregon, between people attending a pro-Trump vehicle rally and Black Lives Matter protesters.

In a long statement Sunday afternoon, Biden called "the deadly violence" in Portland "unacceptable" and said he condemns "violence of every kind by anyone, whether on the left or the right."

"As a country, we must condemn the incitement of hate and resentment that led to this deadly clash," Biden said. "It is not a peaceful protest when you go out spoiling for a fight. What does President Trump think will happen when he continues to insist on fanning the flames of hate and division in our society and using the politics of fear to whip up his supporters?"

Biden accused Trump of "recklessly encouraging violence" and said that while the president "may believe tweeting about law and order makes him strong ... his failure to call on his supporters to stop seeking conflict shows just how weak he is."

"He may think that war in our streets is good for his reelection chances, but that is not presidential leadership — or even basic human compassion," Biden said. 

"The job of a president is to lower the temperature. ... The temperature in the country is higher, tensions run stronger, divisions run deeper. And all of us are less safe because Donald Trump can't do the job of the American president," NBC News cited the  Democratic presidential nominee as saying.