Joe Biden lashed out at President Trump after he criticized Rep. Elijah Cummings and called the Democrat’s Baltimore-based district a “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess.”
“[Cummings] is one of the finest people I’ve ever served with. It is despicable for you to attack him and the people of Baltimore this way. Once again you have proved yourself unfit to hold the office. A President is supposed to lift this nation up. Not tear it down,” the 2020 front-runner said in a tweet Saturday.
.@RepCummings is one of the finest people I’ve ever served with. It is despicable for you to attack him and the people of Baltimore this way. Once again you have proved yourself unfit to hold the office. A President is supposed to lift this nation up. Not tear it down.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 27, 2019
The former vice president did not go as far as to accuse Trump of racism as other defenders of Cummings have done. For instance, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, “We all reject racist attacks against him and support his steadfast leadership,” in response to the president’s tweets targeting the black lawmaker and his majority-black district. Biden has struggled to fend off criticisms of his own remarks related to race during the early stages of the Democratic presidential primary contest.
In a trio of tweets Saturday morning, Trump called Cummings a “brutal bully” and described his district as a “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess.”
“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. His district is considered the Worst in the USA,” Trump said. “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.”
….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
“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!” he added.
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
After Trump claimed Cummings’ district in Maryland was “more dangerous” than the U.S.-Mexico border, the Democratic leader defended his record of working for his constituents.
“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,” Cummings said.
Just yesterday, I held a hearing on the skyrocketing prices of prescription drugs and the financial hardships that families across the nation, and in Baltimore, are facing.
— Elijah E. Cummings (@RepCummings) July 27, 2019
“Just yesterday, I held a hearing on the skyrocketing prices of prescription drugs and the financial hardships that families across the nation, and in Baltimore, are facing,” he added. “Mr. President, we can address this together. Two years ago, I went to the White House to ask you to endorse my bill to let the government negotiate directly for lower drug prices. You told me then that you supported the legislation and that you would work with me to make it happen. I took you at your word.”
You told me then that you supported the legislation and that you would work with me to make it happen. I took you at your word.https://t.co/bcfyQgXwm4
— Elijah E. Cummings (@RepCummings) July 27, 2019
Cummings has represented the 7th Congressional District since 1996.
Trump’s tweets, which appears to have been prompted by a Fox News segment, has led to a wide array of reprisals, including from David Axelrod, a senior adviser to President Barack Obama. He said the rhetoric is “unworthy” of a president and exemplified why Trump might lose his reelection bid in 2020.
Baltimore-born CNN anchor Victor Blackwell teared up as he defended his home district and said Trump’s tweets are clearly “about black and brown people.”
Cummings, the House Oversight Committee chairman, has been a harsh critic of what he argues is the Trump administration’s poor treatment of migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. During a hearing on Thursday, Cummings shouted down acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan over conditions in migrant camps.
[ALSO READ: Maryland district Trump hate-tweeted a mix of ‘The Wire’ and upscale suburbia]
Last week, Cummings also gained the authority to subpoena top White House aides for their personal email and text messages, including those of Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, and son-in law Jared Kushner, as part of an inquiry into whether there have been any violations of federal record-keeping laws.
Trump’s criticism of Cummings’ majority-black district comes after the president engaged in a war of words with a group of four liberal minority women lawmakers who call themselves “the squad,” Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, insisting that they “go back” to their home countries, although only Omar was born outside of the United States.
Weighing in on that controversy, Biden said Trump is a bag of unsupported flesh if he really does “not have a racist bone” in his body.
