Politics

Baltimore Sun Calls Trump A ‘Rat’ In Response To President’s Tweets About The City

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The Baltimore Sun editorial board published an op-ed Saturday calling President Donald Trump a “rat” and condemned him for “attacking African-American members of Congress.”

The Sun’s editorial board published an opinion piece titled “Better to have a few rats than to be one.”

The article comes after Trump tweeted about Baltimore’s rodent problem Saturday morning and called out Maryland Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings‘ district specifically, for being a “disgusting, rat & rodent-infested mess.”

“It’s not hard to see what’s going on here,” the op-ed reads. “[Cummings] has been a thorn in this president’s side, and Mr. Trump sees attacking African American members of Congress as good politics, as it both warms the cockles of the white supremacists who love him and causes so many of the thoughtful people who don’t to scream.”

It goes on to condemn the president for bad-mouthing Baltimore, making the point that he often brags about clean and well-run detention centers that “are not — unless you are fine with all the overcrowding, squalor, cages and deprivation.”

Baltimore has the ninth worst rat problem in the United States, according to Orkin, a company that provides residential and commercial pest control services. It falls just behind Chicago; Los Angeles; New York City; Washington, D.C.;San Francisco; Detroit; Philadelphia; and Cleveland.

The Sun itself has published articles detailing the city’s rat problem. One such article, titled “A year later, did extermination campaign solve rat problem at Baltimore’s public housing complexes?” quotes one resident saying, “‘We have very bad problems. … They reduced nothing.'”

“‘Mice in the homes, rats outside,'” another said.

Trump tweeted Saturday, “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 as proven last week during a Congressional tour, the Border is clean, efficient & well run, just very crowded. Cumming[‘s] District is a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess,” the tweet continued.

….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

Cummings responded soon after, writing on Twitter, “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.”

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.

— Elijah E. Cummings (@RepCummings) July 27, 2019