Baltimore is under attack from the tweeter-in-chief.
The city became collateral damage Saturday after President Trump ripped Rep. Elijah Cummings as “a brutal bully” and blasted the state of Charm City.
“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 posted.
“Cumming (sic) 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.”
Trump’s wrath appears to have been sparked after the longtime Congressman and Trump critic, whose district includes Baltimore and its suburbs, grilled acting Homeland Security chief Kevin McAleenan during a committee hearing July 18.
At one point McAleenan said he was doing his “level best” to handle the ongoing border crisis, and Cummings raged at him.
“What does that mean? What does that mean when a child is sitting in their own feces, can’t take a shower? Come on man,” Cummings fumed.
“What’s that about? None of us would have our children in that position. They are human beings.”
Trump’s attack mirrored his criticism of Rep. John Lewis in July 2017, when he called out Atlanta, in Lewis’ district, as being “in horrible shape and falling apart.” He also slammed the city as “crime infested.”
Earlier this month the president went after Reps Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley, saying they should “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.”
All but Omar was born in the United States.
Cummings responded to the president Saturday without directly addressing the criticism.
“Mr. President, I go home to my district daily. Each morning, I wake up, and I go and fight for my neighbors,” he tweeted.
“It is my constitutional duty to conduct oversight of the Executive Branch. But, it is my moral duty to fight for my constituents.”
But Baltimore mayor Bernard Young didn’t pull his punches.
“It’s completely unacceptable for the political leader of our country to denigrate a vibrant American City like Baltimore, and to viciously attack U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings a patriot and a hero,” he said in a statement.
“Mr. Trump, you are a disappointment to the people of Baltimore, our country, and to the world.”