Sure, Baltimore has problems, but President Trump isn’t interested in solving them

Gov. Larry Hogan “could do more” to help Baltimore (“Has Gov. Hogan heard the one about people who live in glass houses?” Aug. 2). Unfortunately, Governor Hogan fell into the trap laid by the president by equivocating on the root cause of Baltimore’s problems. At the end of the day, fixing Baltimore requires city, state and federal partners working together toward a shared goal of improving the living and economic conditions of the city.

Mr. Hogan’s inability to be a better leader in this fight and harness the national spotlight on Baltimore for the good deserves to be called out. Let’s be clear, Baltimore has a lot of work to do. Crime, trash, dirty water, Baltimoreans deserve better. Let’s also be clear that Rep. Elijah Cummings has been a tireless advocate for the city and his district for the past few decades and without his leadership Baltimore would certainly be worse off today. But now we need to be unequivocally clear that President Donald Trump’s Twitter tantrum had nothing to do with the conditions in our city and everything to do with the fact that he’s scared of a powerful chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee who recently subpoenaed his slumlord son-in-law (whose rat infested properties run rampant across the city and the nation) and his daughter whose expertise in governance is still questionable today.

President Trump has no interest in helping Baltimore and he has no interest how our city is doing. He only seeks to inflame political and racial tensions. As the political season heats up for what will undoubtedly be a charged 2020 election, it’s good that Baltimore is on the map and I hope that Democratic candidates will lay out how, if they’re president, they would help bring us together rather than tear us down. If one thing’s for sure, we know the current president won’t be doing that.

Andy French, Baltimore

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