Donald Trump began his weekend by launching an unhinged attack on Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), the chair of the House Oversight Committee.
Tweeted Trump: “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 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 … Why is so much money sent to the Elijah Cummings district when it is considered the worst run and most dangerous anywhere in the United States. No human being would want to live there. Where is all this money going? How much is stolen? Investigate this corrupt mess immediately!”
Trump drew his attack, of course, from a segment on FOX & Friends, the Guardian reports: ‘The Fox & Friends segment Trump appeared to have watched showed Cummings questioning the US Customs and Border Protection commissioner and acting homeland security secretary, Kevin McAleenan, earlier this month. On Thursday, Cummings told reporters the Trump administration’s treatment of migrant children at the southern border was “government-sponsored child abuse”.’
Cummings responded: “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. Just yesterday, I held a hearing on the skyrocketing prices of prescription drugs and the financial hardships that families across the nation, and in Baltimore, are facing. … Mr. President, we can address this together. Two years ago, I went to the White House to ask you to endorse my bill to let the government negotiate directly for lower drug prices. You told me then that you supported the legislation and that you would work with me to make it happen. I took you at your word.”
