Donald Trump on Friday appeared to make light of reports that the Baltimore home of the Maryland congressman Elijah Cummings had been burgled on the same day the president made a racist attack on him.

Cummings’ home in Baltimore was burgled early on Saturday, hours before Trump told Fox News that Cummings is a “brutal bully” and that Baltimore was a “disgusting, rat- and rodent-infested mess”.

Baltimore police on Friday released an incident report revealing the break-in. Trump responded on Twitter: “Really bad news! The Baltimore house of Elijah Cummings was robbed. Too bad!”

The tweet prompted swift condemnation from many, including the former ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, who has been a staunch Trump ally. Trump appointed Haley to the UN job, which she stepped down from in October. She responded to Trump’s tweet by writing “this is so unnecessary” with an eyeroll emoji.

One of Trump’s fiercest defenders then jumped into the fray. White House adviser Kellyanne Conway retweeted Haley’s post and said it was her message that was unnecessary.

THIS is so unnecessary

Trump-PENCE2020 https://t.co/wopDdCWRwR — Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) August 2, 2019

Haley was joined by other Republicans in criticizing Trump’s response, including the Illinois congressman Adam Kinzinger, who said Trump’s tweet was “so beneath the office you hold”.

“It’s childish, and yet it’s getting really old,” tweeted Kinzinger, who has criticized Trump in the past.

Cummings has not responded to Trump’s tweet. But in a statement about the burglary, he said he scared the intruder away by yelling and shouting.

On Twitter, “Too bad!” is one of Trump’s most used rhetorical flourishes. He has used the phrase in more than 60 tweets, mostly in a sarcastic way.

Before becoming president, Trump frequently used “Too bad!” to end tweets in which he criticized media outlets or personalities, then claimed they had bad ratings or low subscribers. Targets of Trump’s ire have included: Fox News’s the O’Reilly Factor, the Arsenio Hall Show, New York magazine (twice), Late Night with Seth Myers, television journalist Lawrence O’Donnell, the View and MSNBC’s Morning Joe.

@LateNightSeth I am not surprised that Seth is absolutely dying in the ratings! He is truly an awkward, mumbling jerk. Too bad! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 28, 2014

Sometimes the meaning behind “Too bad!” is opaque, such as when the president referenced a lawsuit over his now defunct Trump University program, which faced numerous lawsuits from students who said it failed to deliver on its promises. The debacle ended with a court ordering Trump to pay a $25m settlement.

“The ONLY bad thing about winning the Presidency is that I did not have the time to go through a long but winning trial on Trump U. Too bad!

The ONLY bad thing about winning the Presidency is that I did not have the time to go through a long but winning trial on Trump U. Too bad! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 19, 2016

Occasionally, Trump has deployed the phrase with apparent sincerity.

In July 2013, in response to a tweet calling Trump a “very handsome man”, the now president responded: “I know, but the haters and losers never give me credit for that! Too bad.”