Donald Trump called Elijah Cummings a “racist” on Sunday after describing the senior Democratic congressman of colour’s district as a “rat and rodent infested mess”.“If racist Elijah Cummings would focus more of his energy on helping the good people of his district, and Baltimore itself, perhaps progress could be made in fixing the mess that he has helped to create over many years of incompetent leadership,” the president wrote on Twitter. “His radical ‘oversight’ is a joke!”Mr Trump continued escalating his attacks over the weekend against Mr Cummings, going so far as to retweet a reportedly Islamaophobic activist who described the congressman’s majority-black city of Baltimore as a “s***hole”.The president also attempted to defend himself in the wake of growing backlash for his incendiary comments, writing in a separate tweet, “There is nothing racist in stating plainly what most people already know, that Elijah Cummings has done a terrible job for the people of his district, and of Baltimore itself.” But he could not push back the growing tide of anger felt nationwide for launching attacks at a growing list of minority politicians and frequently using the term “infested” to describe places with predominantly populations like Baltimore and African countries. Earlier this month, Mr Trump hurled insults online at four Democratic congresswomen of colour who he told to “go back” to their countries, despite all but one having been born in the United States. The tweets reflected a racist trope well-known to the country’s citizens of colour, who recalled their own experiences of being told to go back to where they came from after the president’s tweets. Top Democrats on Capitol Hill have rebuked the president’s latest “racist attacks” against Mr Cummings. > If racist Elijah Cummings would focus more of his energy on helping the good people of his district, and Baltimore itself, perhaps progress could be made in fixing the mess that he has helped to create over many years of incompetent leadership. His radical “oversight” is a joke!> > — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) > > July 28, 2019Mr Cummings “is a champion in the Congress and the country for civil rights and economic justice, a beloved leader in Baltimore, and deeply valued colleague,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a tweet. “We all reject racist attacks against him and support his steadfast leadership,” she wrote, adding the hashtag ElijahCummingsIsAPatriot.More follows…
