Mr. President comes to Baltimore

By Sam Jones, Columnist

Weeks after labeling the city of Baltimore ‘rat and rodent infested’ via Twitter, President Trump arrived in Charm City Thursday to offer remarks to Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Protestors lined the streets outside of the Baltimore Waterfront Marriott to welcome the president to deep-blue Baltimore City.  

The president’s late July tweet read, “[Rep. Elijah Cummings’s] District is a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess.” The leftist mainstream media was outraged, claiming that President Trump was racist for attacking a black representative of Congress. Additionally, the word “infested” was labeled as inherently racist, even when referring to rodents.  

First of all, race does not factor into who President Trump attacks on Twitter. Trump is a politician, talking directly to his massive Twitter following, without any filter. Even before serving in office, businessman Donald Trump attacked several celebrities that he disagreed with. Several other public figures find themselves in President Trump’s crosshairs as race does not play a factor. Simply calling out Cummings for poorly running his district is not racist. 

Additionally, the word infested has come out of President Trump’s mouth before. In August 2017, President Trump characterized New Hampshire as a “drug-infested-den.” The state of New Hampshire is over 90% Caucasian and has one of the highest rates of opioid deaths in America. The word choice brought concerns of Trump’s respect for the state of New-Hampshire, but there were no cries of racism. 

Former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh even stated in a 2018 Fox affiliated report, “Woah, you can smell the rats,” she later stated. “Oh my God, you can smell the dead animals.” 

The president’s characterization of Baltimore was factual and not inherently racist. Housing and Urban Development Secretary, Ben Carson, later invited Representative Cummings to tour a HUD facility in Baltimore. Cummings declined the invitation, making many wonder if Cummings’ priorities truly lie with the city of Baltimore. 

Surely, President Trump will not win Maryland in 2020, and Baltimore will not turn red. However, there is some upside to a president calling attention to an area that politicians have ignored for decades. Days after President Trump’s Baltimore Twitter thread, conservative activist Scott Presler organized a group of volunteers to clean up a portion of Cummings’ district. While many remain outraged, the calls of racism are simply invalid. Some may begin to wonder if republican leadership could restore the opportunity and safety of inner cities. 

Still, protestors lined the streets Thursday night outside of the Baltimore Waterfront Marriott, causing heavy traffic, and rerouting commuters throughout the city. President Trump did not mention his former criticism of Cummings and his district. However, he did state, “We’re going to fight for the future of cities like Baltimore, that have been destroyed by decades of failed, and corrupt rule.”