President Trump Says Baltimore Residents 'Living In Hell,' Rep. Cummings Says He Will Continue To Work For Constituents
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- President Donald Trump said Tuesday that people from Baltimore and other "Democratic-run" cities have called to thank him since he brought attention to what he called corruption.
"Those people are living in hell in Baltimore," Trump said. "They're largely African-American ... and they really appreciate what I'm doing, and they let me know it."
READ MORE | Trump calls Baltimore "rat and rodent-infested mess."
He claimed that "thousands" of people have told the administration they are "thankful" and that African-Americans are "happy as hell" that's he's highlighting the "corruption" in the city.
Trump took questions from the media on the South Lawn outside the White House Tuesday morning before he headed to Virginia for Jamestown celebrations. He initially was talking about the U.S.-China trade war, but then the conversation took a turn to his tweets attacking Baltimore and city leadership -- including Rep. Elijah Cummings.
"Baltimore has been very badly mishandled for many years," Trump said. "As you know Congressman Cummings has been there for a long time, he's had a very iron hand on it. It's a corrupt city, there's no question about it. All you have to do is look at the facts."
The president said that the federal government has pumped billions of dollars into the city, but to "no avail."
"Baltimore is an example of what corrupt government leads to," Trump added.
Cummings finally tweeted after days of attacks from the president but didn't acknowledge Trump in his tweet.
"I am fueled by these smart and energized young people and I will continue to do every day what I am duty-bounded to do – help my constituents to live their best lives and serve as a check on the Executive Branch" Cummings tweeted.
Cummings said he spent the day with students of University of Maryland's summer bioscience internship program.
On Tuesday, Trump again called the Rev. Al Sharpton a "conman" and called him a racist.
"I am the least racist person there is anywhere in the world," Trump said.
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He said that unemployment has been at its lowest ever among African-Americans.
"What I've done for African Americans in 2.5 years, no other president has been able to do anything like it," Trump said.
Trump says Cummings should take his oversight committee and go down to Baltimore and find the "billions that have been stolen."
Trump said he feels bad for the people of Baltimore and will get involved if they ask.
State Senator Jill Carter told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren her office reached out to the Trump Administration for assistance but never heard back.
"I think he is using pain for political purposes," Senator Carter said.
Carter said that President Trump has a responsibility to do what he can to help in the district, but she's not surprised by President Trump's negative comments, calling him a "tyrannical demagogue."
President Trump criticized then-President Obama for a lack of leadership about Baltimore in 2015. He declared then he would "fix it fast."
Tuesday marked the fourth day the president has had an opinion on how Baltimore city is run and made remarks about Rep. Cummings's leadership.
