Emily Goodin, Daily Mail, July 29, 2019

Trump claims ‘con man’ Al Sharpton ‘Hates Whites & Cops!’ as famed black activist heads to Baltimore to counter president’s direct attack on ‘King Elijah’ Cummings

Emily Goodin, Daily Mail, July 29, 2019

Donald Trump charged the Rev. Al Sharpton with hating ‘whites & cops’ in an early Monday morning Twitter rant where he also doubled down on his criticism of Elijah Cummings.

Sharpton tweeted he was on his way to defend Baltimore and the Democratic lawmaker after Trump attacked both, causing the president to fire back at the prominent African American civil rights activist.

‘I have known Al for 25 years. Went to fights with him & Don King, always got along well. He “loved Trump!” He would ask me for favors often. Al is a con man, a troublemaker, always looking for a score. Just doing his thing. Must have intimidated Comcast/NBC. Hates Whites & Cops!,’ the president tweeted.

His attack came shortly before Sharpton hosted a press conference in Baltimore with former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, who served as lieutenant governor of Maryland.

‘He attacks everybody. I know Donald Trump. He’s not mature enough to take criticism. He’s like a child,’ Sharpton said at the event.

‘But he has a particular venom for blacks and people of color. He doesn’t refer to any of his other opponents or critics as “infested.” He does not attack their districts. He attacks Nancy Pelosi. He attacks Chuck Schumer. He attacks other whites but never said their districts or states are places no human being wants to live,’ he added.

The president also claimed Sharpton apologized to him during a Trump Tower visit during the 2016 presidential election

‘Al Sharpton would always ask me to go to his events. He would say, “it’s a personal favor to me.” Seldom, but sometimes, I would go. It was fine. He came to my office in T.T. during the presidential campaign to apologize for the way he was talking about me. Just a conman at work!,’ the president tweeted.

Trump did not specify what Sharpton apologized for but the activist was critical of Trump’s campaign, telling Politico the Republican nominee had a ‘complete disregard and disrespect for addressing’ black voters and their issues.

Sharpton responded to the early morning attack with a tweet of his own, sharing a photo from 2006 featuring him, Trump, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and singer James Brown.

‘Trump at NAN Convention 2006 telling James Brown and Jesse Jackson why he respects my work. Different tune now,’ he wrote.

He later tweeted: ‘Trump says I’m a troublemaker & con man. I do make trouble for bigots. If he really thought I was a con man he would want me in his cabinet.’

The two men, both prominent New Yorkers, became acquainted in the 1980s. Sharpton has grown increasingly critical of Trump throughout his presidency and slammed Trump’s attacks on the ‘squad’ — four minority lawmakers Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib – as ‘racist.’

Sharpton described his and Trump’s on-and-off relationship in a 2017 interview with Vice News.

‘Down through the years we saw each other, fell out, made up, fell out,’ he said.

But, he said, their friendship ended during the ‘birther’ controversy, when Trump pushed a disproven theory that then-President Barack Obama was not born in the United States.

‘We had a meeting and argued about it, and that was it from there,’ Sharpton said.

Sharpton and Obama are close.

After his attacks on Sharpton, Trump returned to his criticism of Cummings, whose House committee is investigating his administration and his business interests. He sent more than a dozen tweets over the weekend attacking the 13-term congressman and his home town of Baltimore.

The president, who often gives political rivals taunting monikers, dubbed Cummings ‘King Elijah.’

‘Baltimore, under the leadership of Elijah Cummings, has the worst Crime Statistics in the Nation. 25 years of all talk, no action! So tired of listening to the same old Bull…Next, Reverend Al will show up to complain & protest. Nothing will get done for the people in need. Sad!,’ he tweeted Monday morning.

And then he added: ‘If the Democrats are going to defend the Radical Left “Squad” and King Elijah’s Baltimore Fail, it will be a long road to 2020. The good news for the Dems is that they have the Fake News Media in their pocket!’

Cummings chairs the House Oversight and Reform Committee, which is investigating several different areas in regards to Trump including oversight of his administration; security clearances for his staff which includes those for the president’s daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner; any ties with Russia from the 2016 campaign; any violations of the Emoluments Clause, which forbids officials from benefiting financially from their government job; immigration issues; national security issues and voting rights issues.

Cummings’ committee has subpoenaed White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, who declined to appear before his panel, and last week voted to authorize subpoenas for personal emails and texts used for official business by top White House aides, including Ivanka Trump and Kushner.

On Sunday, Trump defended his recent criticism of Elijah Cummings and Baltimore, Maryland, which falls in the district the congressman represents, claiming there was ‘nothing racist’ about his comments.

Baltimore, under the leadership of Elijah Cummings, has the worst Crime Statistics in the Nation. 25 years of all talk, no action! So tired of listening to the same old Bull…Next, Reverend Al will show up to complain & protest. Nothing will get done for the people in need. Sad!

If the Democrats are going to defend the Radical Left “Squad” and King Elijah’s Baltimore Fail, it will be a long road to 2020. The good news for the Dems is that they have the Fake News Media in their pocket!

‘There is nothing racist in stating plainly what most people already know, that Elijah Cummings has done a terrible job for the people of his district, and of Baltimore itself,’ Trump tweeted Sunday afternoon. ‘Dems always play the race card when they are unable to win with facts. Shame!’

In an earlier tweet Sunday morning, Trump also blasted Democrats for ‘playing the Race Card’ and making him out to be a racist for his digs at Cummings, who is black.

‘The Democrats always play the Race Card, when in fact they have done so little for our Nation’s great African American people,’ Trump posted to Twitter. ‘Now, lowest unemployment in U.S. history, and only getting better. Elijah Cummings has failed badly!’

In another tweet following up on the initial attacks, Trump said the congressman should focus more on ‘fixing the mess’ in Baltimore instead of border issues and pursing impeachment.

‘If racist Elijah Cummings would focus more of his energy on helping the good people of his district, and Baltimore itself, perhaps progress could be made in fixing the mess that he has helped to create over many years of incompetent leadership. His radical ‘oversight’ is a joke!’ Trump tweeted.

Trump first launched his Twitter attack on Cummings on Saturday after the Oversight Committee chairman criticized conditions at the Southern border.

The outraged president defended the border detention centers as ‘clean, efficient and well run, just very crowded’, and then claimed the facilities are superior to Cummings’ own district in Maryland.

‘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,’ Trump tweeted Saturday.

‘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,’ Trump wondered in another tweet. ‘No human being would want to live there. Where is all this money going? How much is stolen? Investigate this corrupt mess immediately!’

Some insinuated Trump was taking a dig at Baltimore residents, who are more than 60 per cent black and African American, and suggesting they were not humans.

Cummings responded to Trump’s insults saying, ‘Mr. President, I go home to my district daily. Each morning, I wake up, and I go and fight for my neighbors.’

‘It is my constitutional duty to conduct oversight of the Executive Branch. But, it is my moral duty to fight for my constituents,’ he added.

The Oversight Committee, which Cummings heads, is one of the House panels with continuing investigations that will determine whether it will recommend to the camber that it open an impeachment inquiry into the president.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was born in Baltimore and is the daughter of a former Baltimore Mayor, came to Cummings’ defense on Twitter Saturday.

‘@RepCummings is a champion in the Congress and the country for civil rights and economic justice, a beloved leader in Baltimore, and deeply valued colleague. We all reject racist attacks against him and support his steadfast leadership,’ she tweeted.

Trump took her tweet as a chance to criticize the congresswoman, her district and call her a racist.

‘Someone please explain to Nancy Pelosi, who was recently called racist by those in her own party, that there is nothing wrong with bringing out the very obvious fact that Congressman Elijah Cummings has done a very poor job for his district and the City of Baltimore. Just take a look, facts speak far louder than words!’ Trump tweeted.

‘Speaking of failing badly, has anyone seen what is happening to Nancy Pelosi’s district in San Francisco,’ he queried. ‘It is not even recognizeable lately. Something must be done before it is too late. The Dems should stop wasting time on the Witch Hunt Hoax and start focusing on our Country!’

He was likely referencing San Francisco’s homelessness crisis that counted over 8,000 homeless people in the streets, according to a January tally.