Trump Renews Attacks On Elijah Cummings, Repeats Baseless Corruption Claim
President Donald Trump has doubled down on his condemnation of Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) and the city of Baltimore.
Cummings, who chairs the House Oversight and Reform Committee and is a vocal critic of the president’s, recently expressed his disdain of the Trump administration’s treatment of migrants at detention centers at the U.S.-Mexico border.
In response, Trump attacked the congressman with an unsubstantiated allegation of corruption, denigrated the city of Baltimore and defended his immigration policies:
Elijah Cummings never even went to the Southern Border and then he screams at the very good people who, despite Congresses failure to fix the Loopholes and Asylum, make it work (crossings are way down and the Wall is being built). Even with zero Dem help, Border getting strong!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 30, 2019
Baltimore’s numbers are the worst in the United States on Crime and the Economy. Billions of dollars have been pumped in over the years, but to no avail. The money was stolen or wasted. Ask Elijah Cummings where it went. He should investigate himself with his Oversight Committee!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 30, 2019
Trump’s comments about Baltimore are not corroborated by available data. Although the city does have some of the highest rates of violent crime in the U.S., it isn’t considered the most dangerous city in the nation.
Business Insider also reported last year that Baltimore’s economy was average when compared to other large cities in the U.S. Among the 40 largest metro areas in the country, Baltimore’s economy ranked 26th.
Trump has faced intense backlash for his criticism of the black congressman and his characterization of Cummings’ majority-black district as a “rodent infested mess.”
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) decried Trump’s remarks as “racist” and the Baltimore Sun’s editorial board skewered the president for his comments, saying it was “better to have some vermin living in your neighborhood” than to be one.
The hashtag #WeAreBaltimore trended on Twitter over the weekend as residents new and old pushed back against Trump’s censure and expressed their affection for Charm City.
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) also defended Cummings against Trump’s latest tirade on Monday:
Given the obsession of @realDonaldTrump with Rep Elijah Cummings, it's clear that @POTUS is scared of @RepCummings and the Oversight Committee.
I know my friend Elijah will stand tall against Trump's bullying and follow the facts wherever they lead. https://t.co/DqIGmeF13k— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) July 30, 2019
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article misstated Nancy Pelosi's title; she is speaker of the House, not House majority leader.
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.