MeMoMu_ELCWOMF_069 THE MOST PORTLAND / KÜRBLA THING

“Portlanders are demonstrating with joy and whimsy, which is proving very irritating to President Trump and his Cabinet members, because they came here to provoke violence and use that violence as a foundation for increasing authoritarian control,” Sen. Jeff Merkeley (D-Ore.) said at a Monday press conference.
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‘The Most Portland Thing’: Protesters In Inflatable Animal Outfits Counter Trump’s Grim Narrative
Li Zhou
Oct 14, 2025
Inflatable frogs, dinos and unicorns have been demonstrating against Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Portland as protesters seek to counter the grim narrative that President Donald Trump has pushed of the city.
“It’s the most Portland thing I’ve ever seen next to the naked bike ride,” says Jordy, a 30-year-old Portland resident who helped organize the distribution of costumes under an effort dubbed “Operation Inflation,” and who declined to share a last name for privacy reasons. “Right in the face of ICE and DHS and this Trump narrative.”
As the name suggests, the operation involves demonstrators wearing a range of inflatable animal outfits as they attend protests in a bid to highlight both community and hope in the face of a surge of federal agents in the city.
The costumes push back on Trump’s depiction of Portland, which he’s called “war ravaged” Jordy says, and have helped de-escalate tensions at times.
“It really quickly, in like a matter of minutes, just changed the entire vibe for everybody and de-escalated tensions and even some of these right-wing provocateurs, they couldn’t help but laugh,” Jordy told HuffPost.
The idea was first inspired by a protester wearing an inflatable frog costume, who was captured on video getting brutally pepper-sprayed by agents through a vent in the outfit, according to Jordy.
Jordy and a friend, Brooks, began distributing the costumes last Thursday and have seen a surge of interest since. So far, Jordy estimates they’ve distributed 75 to 100 costumes, and hope to continue doing so as demonstrations continue outside an ICE facility in South Portland.
Videos of these protests have captured the contrast of federal agents clad in masks and military gear standing across from protesters in playful, colorful costumes, often bobbing and dancing alongside one another.
“If Trump tries to invoke the Insurrection Act, I would prefer a situation where the thing that they’re pointing to is necessarily going to have to be people dancing in inflatable costumes and saying, this is why I’m invoking the Insurrection Act and then pointing to, like, a unicorn and a frog and a squirrel,” says Jordy.
Trump has targeted Portland as a city he says has a crime problem and claims that ICE facilities are “under siege.” As part of this effort, he’s sent an influx of federal agents and attempted to deploy National Guard troops despite opposition from local leaders. The troops have been temporarily blocked by the courts for now.
“Portlanders are demonstrating with joy and whimsy, which is proving very irritating to President Trump and his Cabinet members, because they came here to provoke violence and use that violence as a foundation for increasing authoritarian control,” Sen. Jeff Merkeley (D-Ore.) said at a Monday press conference.

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