House

Democrats denounce Trump’s attack on Cummings: ‘These are not the words of a patriot’

by Tal Axelrod - 07/27/19 11:15 AM ET

Democratic lawmakers are condemning President Trump’s attacks against House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), calling his Saturday morning remarks “racist” and beneath the office of the presidency.

Trump accused the longtime congressman of being a “brutal bully” and sought to cast Cummings’s district — which includes part of Baltimore — as “dangerous” and “disgusting,” claiming that the Maryland city was “corrupt” and that “no human being would want to live there.”

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) denounced Trump’s “racist attacks” against Cummings, praising the representative as a “champion in the Congress and the country for civil rights and economic justice.”

“This is love of country??” Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), the vice chairwoman of the House Democratic Caucus, tweeted. “These are not the words of a patriot.”

This is love of country??

These are not the words of a patriot. https://t.co/8YjEFMrbyA

— Katherine Clark (@RepKClark) July 27, 2019

“.@RepCummings is a remarkable human w/clear, moral authority & deep commitment to justice. He’s also a phenomenal Chairman, bringing essential oversight to lawless Administration. Trump shows again he simply cannot match the Elijah’s dignity & grace,” tweeted Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), the co-chairwoman of the House Progressive Caucus.

.@RepCummings is a remarkable human w/clear, moral authority & deep commitment to justice. He’s also a phenomenal Chairman, bringing essential oversight to lawless Administration. Trump shows again he simply cannot match the Elijah’s dignity & grace. https://t.co/a6DmZqNNCs

— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) July 27, 2019

“Baltimore is a part of the country you’re responsible for, Mr. President. And its residents are human beings,” Democratic presidential hopeful Rep. Seth Moulton (Mass.) tweeted.

Baltimore is a part of the country you’re responsible for, Mr. President. And its residents are human beings. https://t.co/8bX53P7HpG

— Seth Moulton (@sethmoulton) July 27, 2019

Critics also took aim at Trump’s condemnation of Baltimore, saying the president’s remarks were an attempt to divide the American people.

{mosads}“Donald Trump hits new low with his slashing attack on @RepCummings & the people of Baltimore. Cummings is devoted to the common good, Trump to self-enrichment and glorification. ‘No human being would want to live there’ is a better description of his deranged mind,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) tweeted.

Donald Trump hits new low with his slashing attack on @RepCummings & the people of Baltimore. Cummings is devoted to the common good, Trump to self-enrichment and glorification. “No human being would want to live there” is a better description of his deranged mind. https://t.co/qAEtGjRfXq

— Rep. Jamie Raskin (@RepRaskin) July 27, 2019

“Republican leaders are cool with trump’s bile bc they’ve decided that reaching every American is too hard. They’d rather divide and conquer our population. Trump’s racism is carrying out that division so they can keep power,” added Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.).

Republican leaders are cool with trump’s bile bc they’ve decided that reaching every American is too hard. They’d rather divide and conquer our population. Trump’s racism is carrying out that division so they can keep power.

— Bill Pascrell, Jr. (@BillPascrell) July 27, 2019

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), who sits on the House Oversight and Reform Committee, praised Cummings as a “legendary coach” for the panel. The freshman representative described making her case to join the House committee before Cummings, writing that he was “tough” and “demanded excellence.”

“If you look at Oversight, it includes many all-stars of Congress. From @RepRaskin to @RoKhanna, Cummings is a legendary coach who brings the best out of everyone. He makes the country better. You want to be on his team,” she tweeted.

Let me tell you a story about Chairman @RepCummings.

Before new members are assigned to Congressional committees, we have to make our case to the chair.

Chairman Cummings was TOUGH. I sat down in his office to make my case for Oversight, and I was quite nervous. https://t.co/u1mRAR5epX

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 27, 2019

“@RepCummings is the conscience of our caucus,” added Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who chairs the House Intelligence Committee. “When we need moral clarity, he provides it. When we need direction, he is our guiding light. He’s a better man than Trump will ever be, and that’s what threatens the President.”

Maryland’s two U.S. senators also hit Trump over his broadsides against Cummings and Baltimore, with Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D) saying that Cummings “grew up facing racist bullies like Trump” while Sen. Ben Cardin (D) told Trump that the longtime congressman is “an example of leadership that you could learn from.”

Elijah Cummings grew up facing racist bullies like Trump and learned to confront them with qualities unknown to Trump: courage and integrity. The great people of Baltimore have something Trump craves but will never have as he degrades the Office of the President: dignity.

— Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) July 27, 2019

.@POTUS, @ElijahCummings is an example of leadership that you could learn from.

For years he’s fulfilled his duty to stand up for his constituents and fight for economic empowerment and justice for all.

Meanwhile, you insult the people and cities you are supposed to serve.

— Senator Ben Cardin (@SenatorCardin) July 27, 2019

Sen. Kamala Harris (Calif.), a Democratic presidential hopeful, also highlighted how her campaign headquarters is in Cummings’s district.

“Baltimore has become home to my team and it’s disgraceful the president has chosen to start his morning disparaging this great American city,” she tweeted.

I am proud our campaign headquarters is in Rep. Elijah Cummings’ district. Baltimore has become home to my team and it’s disgraceful the president has chosen to start his morning disparaging this great American city.

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) July 27, 2019

Cummings’s district is 55 percent African American and 35 percent white. It is the second-most wealthy and educated among Maryland’s majority-black districts.

Trump’s early morning attack came weeks after Cummings, an outspoken critic of Trump, called the treatment of migrant children at U.S.-run facilities on the southern border “government-sponsored child abuse.”

Cummings, who has repeatedly condemned the Trump administration’s immigration policies and the federal government’s treatment of immigrants at the border, went off on acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan last week over the conditions of U.S.-Mexico border facilities that house migrants.

The president’s remarks early Saturday also came days after the House Oversight and Reform Committee authorized Cummings to subpoena records from the White House in connection with an investigation into aides’ use of personal email and text applications for official business.

Updated 2:00 p.m.