2020 presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), during his prior presidential run in 2016, compared Baltimore to a “Third World country” while touring one of the city’s neighborhoods and subsequently tweeted, “Residents of Baltimore’s poorest boroughs have lifespans shorter than people living under dictatorship in North Korea. That is a disgrace.”

“Anyone who took the walk that we took around this neighborhood would not think you’re in a wealthy nation,” the Socialist-Democrat Sanders told reporters after his December 2015 tour. “You would think that you were in a Third World country.”

Residents of Baltimore’s poorest boroughs have lifespans shorter than people living under dictatorship in North Korea. That is a disgrace. — Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) May 5, 2016

The socialist senator commented at the time that Baltimore is “a community in which half of the people don’t have jobs. We’re talking about a community in which there are hundreds of buildings that are uninhabitable.”

As expected at the time, Sanders drew attention to his campaign, getting nothing but positive media coverage.

Fast forward to 2019 and we have the liberal media and politicians sanctimoniously accusing President Trump of racism for similarly calling Baltimore “very dangerous and filthy” and a “rat and rodent infested mess.”

President Trump drew criticism for his Saturday tweets blasting Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) for his long-term failures within his own district of Maryland while attacking the people of the Border Patrol for conditions at the southern border.

“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,” Trump wrote, “when actually his Baltimore district is FAR WORSE and more dangerous. His district is considered the Worst in the USA.”

The president continued, “As proven last week during a Congressional tour, the Border is clean, efficient & well run, just very crowded. Cumming[s’] 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.”

Trump then added, “Why is so much money sent to the Elijah Cummings district when it is considered the worst run and most dangerous anywhere in the United States. No human being would want to live there. Where is all this money going? How much is stolen? Investigate this corrupt mess immediately!”

Cummings has been a loud critic of conditions at migrant detention centers. He has even compared conditions at detention centers to “government-sponsored child abuse.”

“We have seen cases where the administration has deported parents without their children and still, to this day, have not reunited those families,” Cummings recently said. “This is government-sponsored child abuse … on a grand scale.”

Cummings also denigrated acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan earlier this month during a House hearing on the border crisis.

“You feel like you’re doing a great job, right? What does that mean? What does that mean? When a child is sitting in their own feces, can’t take a shower?” Cummings said to McAleenan at the hearing.

“Come on man,” the congressman added. “What’s that about? None of us would have our children in that position. They are human beings.” Cummings even accused Border Patrol agents of having an “empathy deficit.”

Oddly, the plight of Baltimore, run for decades by Democrats, is now being twisted into a political asset by leftists as they fire at the president for speaking the truth about the failed city and once again try to use the race card against him.

Dems are promoting a Twitter hashtag #WEAREBALTIMORE to create more racism outrage over Trump’s tweets:

We will forever have the stain of this so called President His crimes

His White Supremacist policies

His mess of everything he touches FOREVER as part of

American History #WeAreBaltimore #WestBaltimore — Mara McEwin (@maramcewin) July 27, 2019

Sanders replied the situation himself on Saturday, and he predictably called the president “racist.”

“Here’s what’s really going on,” he tweeted. “@RepCummings has been busy revealing the failures of the Trump administration and exposing the greed of Trump’s friends in the pharmaceutical industry, and our racist president doesn’t like it.”

The thing is, it’s impossible to bandage over the weeping sore Baltimore has become due to years and years of Democrat mismanagement.

He claims to care about children & their future, however in West Baltimore you will find abandoned homes on every block. Many filled with trash, rodents & homeless looking for shelter. Children live on these streets seen here. This district belongs to @RepCummings. More to come.. pic.twitter.com/8z7tfIHU0q — Kimberly Klacik (@kimKBaltimore) July 25, 2019

….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