Facing growing accusations of racism over his incendiary tweets, President Donald Trump on Sunday tried to deflect the criticism by labeling a prominent minority congressman as himself racist and accusing Democrats of trying to “play the race card.”
Trump assailed Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., as a racist after the president’s criticisms of the congressman’s majority-black district in the Baltimore area as a “rodent-infested mess” where “no human being would want to live” drew widespread condemnation from Democrats as race-baiting.
Trump insisted there was nothing racist about his criticism and tweeted back, “If racist Elijah 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.”
“His radical ‘oversight’ is a joke!” Trump added. He offered no detail to back up his accusation of racism against Cummings.
The president’s comments capped a weekend of attacks on Cummings, the powerful chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, and marked his latest rhetorical shot against non-white lawmakers, exacerbating racial tensions. Two weeks ago, Trump caused a nationwide uproar with racist tweets directed at four Democratic congresswomen of color.
While Trump was firing off his latest round of tweets, Cummings was home in his district attending church and listening to a sermon about putting change into action.
On Saturday, Trump elicited anger from some Baltimore residents when he tweeted that the city was a “rat and rodent infested mess.” The comments were aimed at Cummings, a Democrat who has been a vocal critic of Trump’s border and immigration policies.
Cummings represents Maryland’s 7th district, which includes portions of Baltimore City and extends into Baltimore and Howard counties.
“If he spent more time in Baltimore, maybe he could help clean up this very dangerous & filthy place,” Trump tweeted about Cummings Saturday.
Trump’s detractors flooded Twitter to support the city and Cummings. The topic “#WeAreBaltimore” was trending at No. 1 on Twitter with more than 14,000 tweets by Saturday evening. The president took to Twitter again Sunday morning to continue his criticism. Attempts to reach the president for comment Sunday were not immediately successful.
Meanwhile, Cummings was attending services at New Psalmist Baptist Church on the edge of Northwest Baltimore, where he listened to a sermon about the disciple Paul answering a call from God to help the people of Macedonia.
Bishop Walter S. Thomas, Sr., preached that those who see a problem must also see themselves as the provision for change.
“When the Holy Spirit lives in you, you see need. You don’t tweet it,” said Thomas said during the sermon. The statement was met with applause and cheers from the congregation.
Church spokeswoman Joi Thomas said the sermon was not referencing the exchange between the president and Cummings, but added that sometimes people find meaning in Biblical passages that are pertinent to their everyday lives.
“The mark of a good sermon is that it’s relevant to a situation, even if it’s not about that situation,” she said.
Cummings declined through a church representative to comment on the weekend’s presidential tweet storm.
On Saturday, Cummings tweeted a reply: “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.”
Following the service, some congregants were defensive of Cummings and said they felt exasperated with Trump’s statement. One woman said she was “terribly upset” by the exchange and thought the president was “mean.” Another said she knew a higher power is in charge, and it’s “not the person in the White House.”
James Sutton defended Cummings and felt Trump was speaking ill of Baltimore residents in the tweets.
“If (the president) sees a need for change, he’s supposed to implement change also,” Sutton said. “Baltimore is also supposed to represent him, but apparently not. … I think Baltimore is a great place to live. Everywhere’s got their problems.”
Congregant Trace Stafford rejected the president’s message, but felt that Trump was entitled to his First Amendment right to free speech.
“I think Twitter is Twitter,” Stafford said. “Everyone has the right to say whatever they want. It doesn’t make a difference.”
Stafford said he grew up in a Prince George’s County suburb and moved to West Baltimore in adulthood. Upon his arrival, he found a strong community in the neighborhoods that he said “some people consider not-so-nice.”
“Yeah, communities might be impoverished, but the sense of community is great,” Stafford said.
“We can’t wait for the government to change the problem,” he said. “Just like the sermon says, we are the provision.”
Acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney insisted in two national television interviews that Trump was not making racist comments. But Mulvaney, a former congressman himself, said he understood why some people could perceive Trump’s words as racist.
Mulvaney said Trump’s words were exaggerated for effect — “Does the president speak hyperbolically? Absolutely” — and meant to draw attention to Democratic-backed investigations of the Republican president and his team in Washington.