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President Donald Trump called Rep. Elijah Cummings “racist” in a Sunday afternoon tweet as the Republican president continued his attacks against Cummings and Baltimore.
In the tweet, Trump wrote that if Cummings “would focus more of his energy on helping the good people of his district, and Baltimore itself, perhaps progress could be made in fixing the mess that he has helped to create over many years of incompetent leadership.”
He also called Cummings “racist” in the tweet without offering an explanation as to why.
The tweet comes amid a flurry of posts that also dragged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s name into the fray as he continued to lash out against Rep. Elijah Cummings and Baltimore on Sunday morning.
“Someone please explain to Nancy Pelosi, who was recently called racist by those in her own party, that there is nothing wrong with bringing out the very obvious fact that Congressman Elijah Cummings has done a very poor job for his district and the City of Baltimore,” Trump wrote on Twitter around 8 a.m.
[ Editorial: Better to have a few rats than to be one ]
“The Democrats always play the Race Card, when in fact they have done so little for our Nation’s great African American people,” Trump continued. “Now, lowest unemployment in U.S. history, and only getting better. Elijah Cummings has failed badly!"
Trump’s posts followed his Saturday comments in which he called Baltimore a, “rat and rodent infested mess.” The president threw his online jabs at Cummings, a Democrat and 68-year-old son of a sharecropper who has been a vocal critical against Trump’s border and immigration policies.
Around midnight, Trump tweeted: “So sad that Elijah Cummings has been able to do so little for the people of Baltimore. Statistically, Baltimore ranks last in almost every major category. Cummings has done nothing but milk Baltimore dry, but the public is getting wise to the bad job that he is doing!”
Cummings replied directly to Trump on Twitter, saying: “Mr. President, I go home to my district daily. 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.”
Then on Sunday, the president took aim at Pelosi, a Baltimore native who grew up in Little Italy.
“Speaking of failing badly, has anyone seen what is happening to Nancy Pelosi’s district in San Francisco. It is not even recognizeable [sic] lately. Something must be done before it is too late. The Dems should stop wasting time on the Witch Hunt Hoax and start focusing on our Country!”
Trump then turned his attention back to Cummings, who spent Sunday morning at church.
“'Elijah Cummings has had his chance to address it (crime & conditions in Baltimore) for decades, and he hasn’t gotten it done,'” Trump wrote quoting Fox And Friends weekend host Pete Hegseth.
“How can he get it done when he just wants to use his Oversight Committee to hurt innocent people and divide our Country!” Trump added.
Maryland Policy & Politics
Cummings has also drawn the president's ire for investigations touching on his family members serving in the White House. On Thursday his committee voted along party lines to authorize subpoenas for personal emails and texts used for official business by top White House aides, including Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner.
Critics have accused Trump of playing racial politics.
Cummings' district is about 55% black and includes a large portion of Baltimore. It is home to the national headquarters of the NAACP and Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Hospital.
The city has struggled with violent crime, with more than 300 homicides for four years in a row. It has crumbling infrastructure and a police department under federal oversight.
The district also extends into Maryland’s Baltimore and Howard counties.
The Associated Press, Baltimore Sun reporter Phil Davis and Baltimore Sun editor Nick DiMarco contributed to this article.