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- CNN anchor Victor Blackwell excoriated President Donald Trump over tweets he sent attacking Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings and the district he represents, which includes much of Baltimore, MD.
- Trump referred to Baltimore as a "disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess."
- Blackwell, a native of Baltimore, highlighted a trend of Trump attacking communities of color or the districts of black lawmakers with references to infestations.
- "Donald Trump has tweeted more than 43,000 times, he’s insulted thousands of people, many different types of people, but when he tweets about infestation, it’s about black and brown people," Blackwell said.
- The CNN anchor got choked up as he defended his hometown.
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CNN anchor Victor Blackwell offered an impassioned rebuke of President Donald Trump’s Saturday morning tweets that characterized Baltimore, Maryland, as a "disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess."
The president’s tweets were directed at Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings, who represents Maryland’s 7th congressional district, which includes much of Baltimore.
"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," Trump said in one tweet.
In a separate tweet, the president added, "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."
Like nearly 53% of his district, Cummings is African-American. As Blackwell highlighted in his tearful takedown of Trump’s tweets, this is the second time in the past few weeks in which the president has attacked a lawmaker of color with a reference to an infestation.
"Donald Trump has tweeted more than 43,000 times, he’s insulted thousands of people, many different types of people, but when he tweets about infestation, it’s about black and brown people," Blackwell said, citing other tweets in which the president has used such language in relation to communities of color and districts represented by black lawmakers who’ve been critical of Trump.
Blackwell’s monologue on Trump’s latest tweets took a personal tone toward the end, and he began to choke up as he spoke about the fact he was born and grew up in Baltimore.
"The president says about Congressman Cummings’s district that no human would want to live there. You know who did, Mr. President? I did. From the day I was brought home from the hospital to the day I left for college," Blackwell said.
"There are challenges, no doubt, but people are proud of their community," Blackwell went on to say of his hometown. "I don’t want to sound self-righteous, but people get up and go to work there, they care for their families there, they love their children who pledge allegiance to the flag just like people who live in districts of congressmen who support you sir. They are Americans too."
The CNN anchor’s remarks have gone viral on Twitter and are being widely shared.
Cummings, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, also responded to Trump’s attacks.
In a tweet, the Maryland lawmaker said: "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."
Trump’s tweets come two days after the House Oversight Committee authorized a subpoena for all work-related texts and emails sent or received by White House officials on personal accounts. The subpoena impacts the president’s daughter and adviser, Ivanka Trump, as well as her husband, Jared Kushner.
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See Also:
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- Read Robert Mueller’s opening statement to the House Judiciary Committee
Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (John Haltiwanger)