Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele invited President Trump to visit the streets of Baltimore, a city the president has admonished as “rat infested” and out of control with violent crime.
“Mr. President, come on down [to Baltimore]. The streets are ready for you. The neighborhoods are ready for you,” Steele said. “Folks want to talk to you. So just show up. Put the tweet down, brother, and show up.”
Steele’s comments came during a National Action Network event in the city featuring various minority pundits and politicians, including the Rev. Al Sharpton.
In a weekend Twitter spree, Trump attacked Baltimore and its elected representatives such as longtime Rep. Elijah Cummings.
Trump has called Cummings and Sharpton both “racist” and said they are more focused on harassing him and his administration than helping people who need their attention most.
Sharpton tweeted Monday morning he was “headed to Baltimore” with “a long day ahead.”
He later posted a photo of he and Trump on Instagram with a caption responding to Trump’s accusations of disloyalty.
“Now I’m a con man and troublemaker, that’s why he came to my events?” Sharpton asked. “You are right Mr. President, I’m going to keep making good trouble against racism and people like you that normalize it.”
Steele, who is from the metro Washington, D.C., area, has been a frequent critic of Trump and is currently an MSNBC political analyst.
“We are not defined by the color of our skin,” Steele said.
[Read more: Baltimore Sun rebukes Trump: ‘Better to have a few rats than to be one’]
