Media Claim Trump Is Racist for Baltimore Crime Tweets, but Cummings Said the Same Thing
President Donald Trump has spent the last few days on a rampage against Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings.
Beginning on Saturday, Trump was pointing out the potential hypocrisy of Cummings criticizing the agents of the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol for conditions at the border.
“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 tweeted. “His district is considered the Worst in the USA.”
“As proven last week during a Congressional tour, the Border is clean, efficient & well run, just very crowded. 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.”
….As proven last week during a Congressional tour, the Border is clean, efficient & well run, just very crowded. Cumming 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
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 27, 2019
Trump then suggested that the conditions in Baltimore could be the result of corruption since the city is getting “so much money.”
Why is so much money sent to the Elijah Cummings district when it is considered the worst run and most dangerous anywhere in the United States. No human being would want to live there. Where is all this money going? How much is stolen? Investigate this corrupt mess immediately!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 27, 2019
Almost immediately, the mainstream media and other leftists hailed the President’s tweets as racist because he used the word “infested.”
.@AprilDRyan on President Trump: “He says he is not racist but the racists believe he’s a racist.”https://t.co/Emsm1wGZBJ pic.twitter.com/cuwqdRC2qt
— New Day (@NewDay) July 29, 2019
Sen. Murphy discusses unfollowing President Trump on Twitter.
“Yesterday morning, I just decided that I had enough of starting my days with this kind of racist, hateful, demeaning negativity.”https://t.co/c6rs6OOi0S
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) July 29, 2019
Trump has used the word “infested” to describe other places that do not have the same minority population as Baltimore. For instance, he previously used it to describe New Hampshire. Unsurprisingly, there was not an outcry then that the president’s use of the word was racist.
But if calling out the high crime and violent inner cities of Baltimore makes Donald Trump a racist, what does it mean that Cummings and additional Maryland officials are on the record agreeing with that same sentiment?
The Department of Justice recently named Baltimore as a recipient of law enforcement assistance from the National Public Safety Partnership.
The point of the partnership is to help cities’ law enforcement address issues related to crime. But regular levels of crime won’t suffice to gain eligibility.
“To be considered for selection, a site must have sustained levels of violence that far exceed the national average,” NPSP stated in the announcement that names Baltimore as one the participating cities.
So, when the DOJ named Baltimore as a site with sustained levels of high violence, surely Cummings and his buddies went into a rage about how racist such a label is? Right?
Wrong.
Cummings applauded the decision. “I commend the Department of Justice’s selection of Baltimore as a 2019 Public Safety Partnership site,” Cummings said. “This partnership will help Baltimore continue its work to keep our community safe, fight crime, and rebuild and strengthen police-community relations so that all residents have the opportunity to reach their highest potential.”
No outrage over racist allegations there.
Or here: “This partnership will help Baltimore continue its work to keep our community safe, fight crime, and rebuild and strengthen police-community relations so that all residents have the opportunity to reach their highest potential,” Cummings said again in praising the recognition of Baltimore as an exceptionally violent city.
So, why all the outrage over calling Baltimore a high-crime area?
Why is it OK for Cummings to admit such a thing, but if Trump tweets about it, then the claim becomes racist?
….even to new heights of success and glory, but not with King Elijah and that crew. When the leaders of Baltimore want to see the City rise again, I am in a very beautiful oval shaped office waiting for your call!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2019
The reason is as simple as it is appalling.
The left uses race to deflect from good arguments or to criticize opponents against whom they have no sound argument. While racism is real and atrocious, the left wields the accusation as a sword inaccurately and too frequently.
Leftists would rather conjure up rage at their enemy in the oval office rather than deal with real problems in cities throughout America. They would rather hurl insults at the man in the White House than discuss solutions in our neighborhoods.
That was Trump’s point all along. Check out the video ATF Baltimore tweeted July 26.
ATF, FBI, & Crime Stoppers are offering up to $32,000 for information leading to the arrest of three suspects, two men and one woman, for the assault of a @BaltimorePolice civilian employee on Albemarle St. in East Baltimore on July 24th. Call 866-7LOCKUP with tips. pic.twitter.com/PuRn7DxZAz
— ATF Baltimore (@ATFBaltimore) July 26, 2019
How can Cummings, with a straight face, feign outrage over the conditions at the border when parts of his own Baltimore resemble a war zone?
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