Want to know why politicians usually refuse to respond to stand-up interviews in the street? Most of them know that they risk looking like idiots — as Rep. Jerrold Nadler did in this quick exchange with Austen “Fleccas” Fletcher. An aide to the chair of the House Judiciary Committee tries his best to hustle Nadler into his vehicle — sans mask, notably — but doesn’t succeed before Nadler sticks his foot in his mouth.

Antifa violence? “That’s a myth,” Nadler declares, “that’s being spread only in Washington DC.” Fletcher responds, “That’s crazy, Mr. Nadler” (via Jeff Dunetz):

I ran into Jerry Nadler in DC and asked him to disavow the Antifa violence/rioting in Portland.

His response?

“THATS A MYTH” pic.twitter.com/veImyE2rju

— Essential Fleccas 🇺🇸 (@fleccas) July 27, 2020

A myth? Maybe someone should explain that to the Portland police. They declared a riot the night before Nadler’s commentary, thanks to the sustained violence from the demonstrators, especially around the federal courthouse. In the meantime, protesters insisted that this was a “revolution,” not a protest.

Are they spending too much time in Washington DC too?

Protests in several major cities across the country turned violent this weekend, as weeks of civil unrest and clashes between activists and authorities boiled over, sending thousands of people teeming into public squares demanding racial justice. …

In Portland, the authorities declared a riot after protesters breached a fence surrounding the city’s federal courthouse building. The “violent conduct of people downtown” created a “grave risk of public alarm,” the Portland police wrote on Twitter.

Early Sunday morning, federal agents and local police demanded that protesters leave the area and used tear gas. But the activists stood their ground, blocking intersections. Several people were arrested.

Seems like Nadler is a little uninformed about police activity and public peace. That’s okay. He only chairs the House Judiciary Committee, whose portfolio covers those issues. No problemo.

About the only way Nadler can explain that comment is to say that Antifa’s participation in the violence is the “myth” he meant. With all sorts of Antifa-esque iconography being spraypainted on the walls and its revolutionary radical-left agenda being proclaimed on the streets, that’s a pretty thin dodge. It’s pretty clearly not a Tea Party demonstration on the streets, and it’s also been profoundly violent for weeks now. Calling that a “myth” on camera — and offering no explanation for it — is about as Orwellian as it gets. Portland has never been at war, Winston.

Well, maybe not quite as Orwellian as it gets. For that, we go to ABC News’ version of the events at a California riot, captured by Power Line’s Steven Hayward:

Protesters in California set fire to a courthouse, damaged a police station and assaulted officers after a peaceful demonstration intensified. https://t.co/fUZTABUM21

— ABC News (@ABC) July 26, 2020

What happens when a peaceful demonstration “intensifie[s]”? Shouldn’t it get even more intensely peaceful? That’s not a news report — it’s a public-relations release on behalf of the rioters. The ratio on that tweet must have embarrassed ABC, because a few hours later, they finally included the word “violent” in its headline:

Peaceful protests against police brutality and the presence of federal agents at demonstrations turned violent as police in several large cities across the country declared riots. https://t.co/lihZVKSUyp

— ABC News (@ABC) July 26, 2020

There’s a lot of mythmaking going on in Washington DC and in national media about the riots of 2020. Nadler’s one of the perpetrators, but he’s hardly the only one.