'Deluded nonsense': Trump stokes fury by repeating 'astonishing' claim about American city

President Donald Trump triggered an online political firestorm Friday afternoon with his remarkable claim that every time he sees Portland, Oregon, it's "burning down."

Trump addressed reporters from the Oval Office with some Cabinet members at his side, including Robert F. Kennedy, the secretary of Health and Human Services, and Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

"Every time I look at that place it's burning down," he said. "There's fires all over the place. When a store owner — there are very few of them left — but when a store owner rebuilds a store, they build it out of plywood. They don't put up storefronts anymore. They just put wood up because they know it's going to be ripped down."

The president claimed the U.S. city is "not wonderful" despite what he hears.

"It's a disaster. That's almost an insurrection, that place," he added.

The comments lit up social media, with some residents noting they have a Louis Vuitton store — hardly something that appears in dangerous areas.

Emily C. Singer, staff reporter for The Daily Kos wrote on X, "Deluded nonsense."

Jeffrey Evan Gold, attorney and legal analyst for networks including CNN, HLN, Fox News, ABC and NBC, wrote on X, "So scary!" He included a link to a story with protesters dressed in animal costumes mocking Trump's "war zone" claim.

Self-described Antifa member Matt Zarbatany wrote on X, "How can no one in the media challenge him on this?"

Psychology professor Jack Rogers wrote on X, "Unstable & delusional."

Podcaster Jeff Morton wrote on X, "This man is insane. He literally believes everything he is fed. This is incredible and extremely frightening."

And the anti-Trump X account Spiro’s Ghost added, "Absolute, utterly delusional insanity. Its just astonishing."