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For the second day in a row, Donald Trump blathered at the nation’s sheriffs this morning.

Appearing at a breakfast for a joint conference of the Major County Sheriffs’ Association and Major Cities Chiefs Association, Trump groused about opposition to his executive order banning refugee travel and restricting immigration from seven overwhelmingly Muslim nations. He also offered his boilerplate tough-on-crime support for the nation’s law enforcement. (At least he didn’t completely make up stats about the murder rate, like yesterday.)

And thanks to taxpayers, Multnomah County Sheriff Mike Reese got to see it firsthand.

Reese is using around $2,000 in public cash to travel to DC for the conference, of which Trump’s bluster was a small part. And though the sheriff has pledged not to cooperate with Trump’s stepped up deportation efforts, he was straight-faced in live-tweeting the president’s speech this morning.

Reese has had an interesting go of things in the Trump era. The sheriff himself has publicly vowed not to abet immigration enforcers saying: “If we were to participate with ICE in arresting or detaining people based solely on their immigration status, it would make our job of protecting and serving our community much harder.”

His staff has been less reticent to embrace Trump and his plans. As the Mercury first reported, a Multnomah County deputy named Jason Vetter faces state fines for chanting “Trump” at voters on election day.

And Willamette Week recently reported that a sheriff’s deputy may have helped US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents apprehend a local man, despite his boss’ public statements. Both that deputy and Vetter face internal investigations.

As for Reese, he flew out to DC on Monday, and will stay until Friday, according to the sheriff’s office, which says the trip is “an opportunity to discuss both policy and best practices in public safety at a national level.”

“While in town for the conference, Sheriff Reese has also taken time to meet with members of Oregon’s Federal legislative delegation,” MCSO Lt. Chad Gaidos says. (Reese tweeted a pic of himself with US Rep. Suzanne Bonamici on Tuesday.)

Here’s a video of Trump’s speech to Reese and others.

I'm a news reporter for the Mercury. I've spent a lot of the last decade in journalism — covering tragedy and chicanery in the hills of southwest Missouri, politics in Washington, D.C., and other matters...

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