The President Was Up Early Rage Tweeting About Rep. Elijah Cummings [Updated]
Genetta M. Adams
Filed to:elijah cummings
Photo: Alex Wong (Getty Images)
President Petty, apparently tired of directing racist tweets toward the four congresswomen known as "the Squad," found a new target to point his Twitter fingers at this morning.
Just after 7 a.m. on Saturday, President Trump dropped several tweets about Rep. Elijah Cummings, calling the Maryland Democrat a "brutal bully"(ain't that the pot...!) whose district—which includes predominantly black Baltimore—"is a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess."
The president was apparently mad at Cummings, who is chairman of the House Oversight Committee, for "shouting and screaming at the great men and women of Border Patrol about conditions at the southern border."
From the Hill:
Cummings, who has repeatedly condemned the Trump administration's immigration policies and federal government's treatment of immigrants at the border, went off on acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan last week over the conditions of U.S.-Mexico border facilities that house migrants.
"You feel like you're doing a great job, right?" Cummings asked during a hearing. "What does that mean? What does that mean? When a child is sitting in their own feces, can't take a shower?" he continued, his voice rising. "Come on man. What's that about? None of us would have our children in that position. They are human beings."
But Cummings has also been pursuing an investigation into personal use of emails and texts by White House officials, including Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Also from the Hill:
The president's remarks early Saturday also come days after the House Oversight and Reform Committee authorized Cummings to subpoena for records from the White House in connection with an investigation into aides' use of personal email and text applications for official business.
"There are serious questions about this White House's use of personal email and text accounts. We must issue these subpoenas to get our answers," Cummings said Thursday.
Democrats have accused White House aides of flouting federal records laws, particularly the Presidential Records Act. Cummings pointed to evidence that Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has used WhatsApp to conduct official White House business.
But why was the president tweeting about Rep. Cummings this morning? After all, Cummings has had his foot on Trump's neck since the Democrats took back the House during the midterm elections. Well, Twitter had an idea, and it shouldn't come as a surprise—a news segment on the president's favorite news show, Fox & Friends (h/t the Guardian):
And of course, we all know how Fox & Friends' network Fox News loves to talk about all the things wrong about cities like Chicago and Baltimore, which have absolutely, positively nothing to do with race. This particular segment thought it would be cool to compare Cummings' district to conditions at the Southern border.
How do living conditions in Rep. Cummings' Baltimore district compare to those at the border?
Republican strategist Kimberly Klacik says the conditions in Rep. Elijah Cummings own district are…
Trump's tweets, which come a few weeks after he told four American congresswomen to "go back" to where they came from, just shows once again that the president loves a good dog whistle.
Updated: 7/27/19, 3:35 p.m.: Like the class act that he is, Rep. Cummings responded to the president's tweets, expressing a willingness to work with the president despite Trump's vile descriptions of his district:
But CNN correspondent Victor Blackwell, a Baltimore native, got emotional on-air while calling out the president for his racist rhetoric—like using the word "infested" when describing black and brown communities:
The Unofficial Guide to Whitesplaining Racism
If You Helped a Racist Become the Most Powerful Person in America, Then You're a Racist Too
When Chancletas Come Home to Roost: Did You Hear About the Flip Flops That Confirm Trump Is a Flip-Flopper?
Genetta M. Adams is Managing Editor of The Root.