Trump calls a House critic’s district a ‘rodent infested mess’

WASHINGTON — President Donald

Trump lashed out at a leading African American congressman Saturday, calling him “a brutal bully” who represents a Baltimore-based district that has become a “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess” where “no human being would want to live.”

Trump’s attack on Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, D-Md., a leading critic of the president, parroted a segment that aired earlier in the morning on “Fox & Friends.” The president suggested the congressman was a hypocrite for criticizing conditions in migrant detention centers at the southwestern border when his own district is blighted. Trump also made a vague and unsubstantiated insinuation of corruption.

“Rep, Elijah Cummings has been a brutal bully, shouting and screaming at the great men & women of Border Patrol about conditions at the Southern Border, when actually his Baltimore district is FAR WORSE and more dangerous,” Trump wrote. “His district is considered the Worst in the USA.” He went on: “Cumming District is a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess. If he spent more time in Baltimore, maybe he could help clean up this very dangerous & filthy place.”

Cummings responded on Twitter shortly afterward, saying he was a vigorous advocate for his district.

“Mr. President, I go home to my district daily,” he wrote. “Each morning, I wake up, and I go and fight for my neighbors. It is my constitutional duty to conduct oversight of the Executive Branch. But, it is my moral duty to fight for my constituents.”

The congressman pointed to a hearing he held Friday on his effort to legislate lower drug prices, which would help his Baltimore constituents.

“You told me then that you supported the legislation and that you would work with me to make it happen,” Cummings said. “I took you at your word.”

Trump’s blasts could revive the criticism that followed his attacks on four first-term Democratic congresswomen of color, who he angrily declared should “go back” to their home countries, even though three of them were born in the United States and the fourth is also an American citizen. The president’s use of racist tropes generated enormous anger on the part of Democrats and some Republicans, leading the House to pass a resolution, largely along party lines, condemning his remarks.

On Saturday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi responded on Twitter to the president’s criticism of Cummings, calling the congressman a patriot and a “champion in the Congress and the country for civil rights and economic justice, a beloved leader in Baltimore, and deeply valued colleague.”

Pelosi, who grew up in Baltimore, where her father was mayor, added, “We all reject racist attacks against him and support his steadfast leadership.”

Mayor Bernard C. Young of Baltimore also reacted angrily, saying in a statement that it was “completely unacceptable” to “denigrate a vibrant American City like Baltimore.” He added, “Mr. Trump, you are a disappointment to the people of Baltimore, our country and the world.”

Brandon M. Scott, the City Council president, said the president was in a better position to help than anyone else, but if he did not, then his words would only motivate those in Baltimore to do so themselves.

“When everyone says we’re done, we come back,” he said in an interview. “That’s Baltimore’s story.”

Trump’s Twitter assault came shortly after “Fox & Friends” aired a segment Saturday morning assailing Cummings for focusing on migrants more than his urban constituents. As video footage showed boarded-up houses and trash-strewn areas of Baltimore, the Fox television host said that “living conditions at the border are better than most areas in his district.”

The video was shot by Kimberly Klacik, a Republican strategist from Baltimore who is African American and was interviewed on the segment assailing Cummings. She later rejected the idea that criticism of him and how he represents his district was racist.

She wrote on Twitter that “it is so sad” to interpret turning “the light currently shining on #West-Baltimore into a race issue,” adding that Cummings “could help get his district in order.”

Undaunted by the criticism, Trump decided to go after Cummings again late in the day and explicitly referred to race by asserting that African Americans support him.

“Elijah Cummings spends all of his time trying to hurt innocent people through ‘Oversight,’ ” he wrote on Twitter. “He does NOTHING for his very poor, very dangerous and very badly run district! #BlacksForTrump2020.”

Cummings’ district is 53 percent African American, according to the census, and includes much of Baltimore as well as vast suburban stretches. Baltimore has struggled with crime in recent years, recording more murders in 2017 than any other city of at least 500,000 residents —and more than New York, a vastly larger city.

Trump has denied charges he is racist, citing in his defense the low unemployment rates for Hispanics and African Americans on his watch. In recent days, he has also made a point of pressuring Sweden to release rapper A$AP Rocky, who was charged with assault there, saying, “Sweden has let our African American Community down in the United States.”

Cummings, the chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, has been one of the president’s most persistent critics in Congress. Only two days ago, he was authorized by his committee to subpoena work-related text and emails sent on personal accounts by White House officials, including Trump’s daughter and son-in-law.

The Maryland congressman has also assailed the administration’s handling of the border. At a recent hearing, Cummings confronted Kevin McAleenan, the acting secretary of homeland security, about conditions for detained migrants, sharply criticizing the secretary’s contention that his department was doing its “level best” to manage the situation.

“What does that mean?” Cummings said. “What does that mean when a child is sitting in their own feces, can’t take a shower? Come on, man. What is that about? None of us would have our children in that position. They are human beings.”

In his Twitter storm Saturday, the president said Cummings was distorting the reality, saying, “the Border is clean, efficient & well run, just very crowded.”

Trump did not explain one of his charges, that taxpayer money was being stolen, nor did he detail what involvement he was suggesting on Cummings’ part.

“Why is so much money sent to the Elijah Cummings district when it is considered the worst run and most dangerous anywhere in the United States,” the president wrote. “No human being would want to live there. Where is all this money going? How much is stolen? Investigate this corrupt mess immediately!”

White House officials did not respond to requests for clarification. A spokesman for Cummings had no comment.