David Axelrod, former President Barack Obama’s chief campaign strategist, said Saturday that President Donald Trump’s criticism of Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) and the Democrat-run city of Baltimore could cost him the 2020 election.
“If @realDonaldTrump loses in 2020, this will be why,” Axelrod wrote on Twitter. “Every, single day, he subjects the country he was elected to lead to a stream of ugly, divisive bombast. It’s exhausting. It’s destructive. It’s unworthy of a POTUS.”
“realDonaldTrump may believe in multiplication by division but it doesn’t add up for the American people. The rancor and chaos his daily dose of nastiness creates is a barrier to actually getting things done on tangible concerns,” the longtime Democrat operative added.
And the thing about it is this: @realDonaldTrump may believe in multiplication by division but it doesn’t add up for the American people. The rancor and chaos his daily dose of nastiness creates is a barrier to actually getting things done on tangible concerns.
— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) July 27, 2019
In a series of tweets earlier Saturday, President Trump called Cummings, who serves as chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, of being a “brutal bully” and said conditions at the U.S.-Mexico border pale in comparison to 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,” the president tweeted. “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,” he added. “If he spent more time in Baltimore, maybe he could help clean up this very dangerous & filthy place.”
….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
Earlier this month, Cummings yelled at Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan over the treatment of migrant children inside immigrant detention facilities. McAleenan testified that DHS was “doing [its] level best” to care for the children.
“What does that mean?” Cummings shouted in response. “What does that mean when a child is sitting in their own feces, can’t take a shower? Come on, man. What’s that about? None of us would have our children in that position. They are human beings!”
President Trump isn’t the first high-profile lawmakers to criticize Baltimore. In May 2016, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) cited North Korea to highlight the lifespan of residents of Baltimore’s “poorest boroughs,” calling it a “disgrace.”
“Residents of Baltimore’s poorest boroughs have lifespans shorter than people living under dictatorship in North Korea. That is a disgrace,” Sanders tweeted.
“Horribly, someone born in Baltimore’s poorest neighborhood can expect to live 20 years less than a person born in the wealthiest area,” the far-left lawmaker posted to social media days later.
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