President Donald Trump chided Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) on Saturday for shouting down acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan over conditions in detention camps during a hearing last week.
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......
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 27, 2019
....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
Democrats were quick to come to Cummings' aid, saying he's "a beloved leader."
.@RepCummings is a champion in the Congress and the country for civil rights and economic justice, a beloved leader in Baltimore, and deeply valued colleague. We all reject racist attacks against him and support his steadfast leadership. #ElijahCummingsIsAPatriot https://t.co/2LG8AuQrHh
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) July 27, 2019
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) even made the case that Cummings' has "made the country better."
Let me tell you a story about Chairman @RepCummings.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 27, 2019
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
He looked right at me & said: “I am going to ask you plainly: Are you here to do the work?”
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 27, 2019
People’s lives are at stake in urgent ways on Oversight. He demanded excellence, & was watching my every word.
I said “Yes” &made my best case incl why & how I wanted to be on the cmte.
By the end of the mtg, I had no idea if I made the cut.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 27, 2019
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.
While all of Cummings' so-called "accomplishments" look great to the Democratic Party, one of his residents, Michelle, completely agrees with what President Trump said.
"What he [President Trump] said was definitely true," Michelle said in a video. "He [Cummings] hasn't done anything for us for the last, I think he's been in office over 20 years?"
"30 [years]," a person behind the camera said.
"30? Okay. So I was like 18 back then and he hasn't done anything for us. No cookouts, no shoe giveaway, no clothes giveaway. Nothing," Michelle explained.
Michelle gave credit to Kimberly Klacik for posting previous videos of what Baltimore actually looks like. She said Klacik's videos exposing what Baltimore actually looks like, with trash and rodents, has done more good for the city than Cummings has in his 30 years in Congress.
"As far as the housing and everything goes, like I said, he has never done anything, not even [for] one person that I know of," Michelle explained. "I never heard anybody ever say anything about him. And people wanna talk about Donald Trump. Donald Trump this, Donald Trump that. This man [Cummings] is over here taking care of people at the border. We [are] hungry. We need a place to stay. We feel like we're in a concentration camp. It's just sad. He's more worried about them [illegal aliens] than his own people. It's just crazy."
According to Michelle, the last time her neighborhood was thriving was back in 2003.
"2003. That's a long time ago and that's just sad," she explained. "Then they wanna take the houses that look nice on the outside and come around and film houses that look nice on the outside, but really, don't nobody [sic] live in them houses. And they're tore up from the floor."
.@kimKBaltimore interviews Baltimore resident Michelle:
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) July 27, 2019
Michelle on Trump's tweets: "What he said was definitely true. [Cummings] hasn't done anything for us"
Michelle on Cummings: "He's worried more about [caring for illegal aliens at the border] than his own people"
(1/2) pic.twitter.com/yGhKKB12DJ
Michelle was then asked what she thought about CNN's Victor Blackwell defending Baltimore and saying President Trump is racist for slamming Cummings' lack of action.
"Trump is not racist, not to my knowledge. I'm glad that he pointed it out. I'm glad that he [Trump] put him [Cummings] on blast because people in West [inaudible] have put him on blast for years, ever since he's been in office," she said. "He's never done anything for us."
According to Michelle, the rats didn't just show up and their city didn't become what it did overnight.
"These houses didn't just get torn down. They've been like this," she explained. "If he [Cummings] took the time out to come over here and see how things are, maybe he'd be better at his job."
Baltimore resident Michelle on CNN’s Victor Blackwell suggesting Trump was racist for his tweet:
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) July 27, 2019
“Trump is not racist … I’m glad he put [Cummings] on blast. The rats just didn’t come. These houses just didn’t get torn down, they’ve been like this”
(2/2) pic.twitter.com/yfW7Cd0vhg
Who are we going to listen to in this situation, a politician who comes and goes as he pleases or a resident who actually lives and works in the district?
What President Trump said wasn't an insult to Baltimore or its residents. It's a reality check for people like Cummings who make a career out of being in Congress and forget where they came from. Bringing issues like this to light means they're more likely to be fixed.
And Michelle is right. People in Baltimore and other inner cities deserve to have a representative that puts their needs before others, including illegal aliens.