Furore as President brands Baltimore ‘infested mess’

Donald Trump was hit with new accusations of racism yesterday after he ­branded the city of Baltimore an “infested mess”.

US Representative Elijah Cummings, Democrat of Maryland. Picture: AFP

Donald Trump was hit with new accusations of racism yesterday after he ­attacked a prominent African-American congressman and branded the city of Baltimore an “infested mess”.

The US President’s comments came in a series of sharply worded tweets aimed at Democratic Representative Elijah Cummings — a high-profile critic of Mr Trump’s administration whose district covers much of Baltimore.

“Cummings District is a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess,” Mr Trump wrote, calling it “the worst run and most dangerous anywhere in the US”.

“No human being would want to live there,” he said, in an attack ostensibly provoked by Mr Cummings’s criticism of the harsh conditions facing would-be asylum-seekers at the US-Mexico border.

The comments ignited a storm of criticism, less than two weeks after the House of Representatives condemned Mr Trump for “racist” comments targeting four first-term Democratic congresswomen who are from ethnic minorities.

The top Democrat in congress, house Speaker Nancy Pelosi, ­accused Mr Trump of a “racist” ­attack on a “champion … of civil rights and economic justice, a beloved leader in Baltimore, and deeply valued colleague”.

“We all reject racist attacks against him,” wrote Ms Pelosi, who was born in Baltimore and whose father served as mayor of the city.

Former vice-president Joe Biden — the Democratic frontrunner to challenge Mr Trump in 2020 — called out the President directly on Twitter.

“It is despicable for you to attack him and the people of Baltimore this way,” Mr Biden wrote. “Once again you have proved yourself unfit to hold the office. A president is supposed to lift this nation up, not tear it down.”

There was similar condemnation from half a dozen White House candidates, including Cory Booker, who tweeted footage of a black CNN anchor and Baltimore native who broke down on air while reacting to the attack on his home town.

“This is painful. This is a moral-defining moment in America,” wrote Senator Booker. “Silence is toxic complicity.”

Democratic 2020 contender Kamala Harris, who like Senator Booker is black, said she was “proud” to have her campaign headquarters in Mr Cummings’s district and called Mr Trump’s ­attack “disgraceful”.

Baltimore’s Democrat Mayor, Bernard “Jack” Young — also black — rejected Mr Trump’s rhetoric, calling it “hurtful and dangerous.” “It was a total insult,” he said. “We’re not going to ignore anyone degrading Baltimore city and its ­effective leadership, no one.”

The editorial board of The Baltimore Sun took a direct swipe at Mr Trump in a scathing column that concluded it was “better to have a few rats than to be one”.

A historic port city of 600,000 people, Baltimore presents a mixed picture, with both handsome and affluent neighbourhoods and poverty-stricken districts. It has one of the country’s highest murder rates.

Mr Cummings’s district is more than 50 per cent black, and the city of Baltimore as a whole more than 60 per cent.

Mr Cummings tweeted: “Mr President, I go home to my district daily. Each morning, I wake up, and I go and fight for my neighbours. It is my constitutional duty to conduct oversight of the executive branch, but it is my moral duty to fight for my constituents.”

As chairman of the house oversight committee, Mr Cummings — one of the most prominent ­African Americans in congress — has launched investigations into Trump administration policies, including reports of poor treatment at migrant detention centres.

“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,” Mr Trump charged.

“Elijah Cummings spends all of his time trying to hurt innocent people through ‘Oversight.’ He does NOTHING for his very poor, very dangerous and very badly run district!,” adding the hashtag #BlacksForTrump2020.

Mr Trump denies accusations of racism and has pushed for the release of US rapper A$AP Rocky, held in Sweden on assault charges.

AFP