This was one rat with perfect timing.

A camera crew for WBFF, a Baltimore television station, was on assignment Monday in west Baltimore’s Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood, a part of Rep. Elijah Cummings’ congressional district.

And one scurrying resident of the area showed up right on cue.

A rat runs through a FOX45 Baltimore Reporter’s live shot during a story on President Trump’s tweet Baltimore is rat infestedhttps://t.co/s60inZ6TtK pic.twitter.com/R4LFxsPWeK — FOX Baltimore (@FOXBaltimore) July 29, 2019

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“A rat was seen running through a FOX45 reporter’s live shot during a story on President Trump’s tweet [stating] Baltimore is rat-infested,” the station reported Monday.

“Maxine Streicher was in west Baltimore’s Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood today to report on conditions.”

As most of the country knows by now, President Donald Trump ignited a feud with Cummings on Saturday over Cummings’ treatment of immigration and border officials at congressional hearings.

This was the Trump tweet that set off the battle.

….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

The mainstream media and Democrats went crazy, even though Baltimore’s urban blight problems are well documented. The predictable accusations were made that Trump was being “racist” just for pointing out the truth.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, for instance, was just one of the national Democrats who attacked Trump, though the presidential wannabe said similar things about “Charm City” in 2015 (before his last bid for the presidency.)

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And Baltimore officials themselves are well aware of the city’s problems – problems that a congressman like Cummings, with seniority and congressional heft, should be expected to be able to do something about.

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But clearly, the media and Democrats didn’t care much about Baltimore’s problems until the man in the White House highlighted them.

And media attention since, like the WBFF video, hasn’t done much to make Trump look like a liar. Though it has made Baltimore, Democrats and the media look bad.

Some of the responses to the WBFF Twitter post bore that out.

Rats what rats, I don’t see no rats? Said a Democrat representative. pic.twitter.com/SSPWbCy8uB — TCanOrdinaryAverageGuy (@ThomasC72256421) July 29, 2019

So again, where is President Trump wrong with his comments about the West Side? Dont rush, I wait!!! — Kelvin Gentry (@KelvinGentry4) July 29, 2019

Where’s the “thanks” to Trump for bringing this rat infestation to the publics eye. It’s good news is it not? — Alice (@whistle202) July 30, 2019

There’s no way of telling how this latest brouhaha is going to end, though it’s clear Trump touched a nerve with his post attacking Cummings for his apparent neglect of his own district.

But one thing is certain: This rat’s timing was dead on.

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