Congressman Cummings, Rev. Sharpton and Other Leaders Will Not Be Deterred by Trump's Attacks on Baltimore or Any American City

To Be Equal #30
Marc H. Morial 
July 31, 2019

“Mr. Trump’s words are dangerous. These words are more than a “dog-whistle.” When such violent dehumanizing words come from the President of the United States, they are a clarion call, and give cover, to white supremacists who consider people of color a sub-human “infestation” in America. They serve as a call to action from those people to keep America great by ridding it of such infestation. Violent words lead to violent actions. When does silence become complicity? What will it take for us all to say, with one voice, that we have had enough? The question is less about the president’s sense of decency, but of ours.” – statement from Washington National Cathedral leadership

President Trump’s attack on Rep. Elijah Cummings and the city of Baltimore, most of which he represents, are not based on anything he’s observed about Rep. Cummings or Baltimore.  

The National Urban League was proud to honor Rep. Cummings with the President’s Award during our 2016 Conference in his home city of Baltimore. Our Conference showcased Rep. Cummings’ efforts to heal Baltimore in the wake of the 2015 uprising triggered by the death of Freddie Gray in police custody. 

Bullhorn in hand, Rep. Cummings stood between police and protestors, night after night, trying to diffuse the tensions and curb the violence. 

No one serves his constituents with more diligence or dedication than Rep. Cummings. But it wasn’t Rep. Cummings performance as a legislator, or the condition of his district that triggered President Trump’s attacks.  

Just like his attacks on four Congresswomen of color, or the Rev. Al Sharpton, it comes from deep-seated stereotypes and knee-jerk hostility toward anyone – much less women, or people of color – who dares to challenge him or hold him accountable for his actions. 

If President Trump’s disparagement of a congressional district as poverty-stricken and struggling were based on reality, he’d be talking about districts like Kentucky's 5th, in the heart of Appalachia, or West Virginia’s 3rd, reeling from the decline of coal mining. 

Clearly, it’s not poverty that concerns President Trump, whose proposed budget would cut nutrition assistance for the poor by 30% and throw 3 million working and indigent families off the program. 

It’s not gun violence that concerns President Trump, who has weakened firearm safety laws by repealing a rule prohibiting some mentally ill disability recipients from possessing guns, and by changing the definition of fugitive, allowing more people on the run from the law to acquire firearms. 

It can’t be drug abuse that concerns President Trump, who has yet to nominate a leader for the Drug Enforcement Administration, and whose administration is bickering amongst itself over how to classify certain dangerous drugs. 

It’s certainly not the presence of vermin that concerns President Trump, whose own resorts and golf clubs have all been cited for extensive health-code violations, including rodents. 

No, President Trump’s attacks on Rep. Cummings and his district were triggered by Cummings’ decision, as House Oversight Committee Chair, to subpoena top White House aides in the committee’s investigation into official emails and texts sent from personal accounts.  

Attacking those who dare to challenge his authority is nothing new – his tirades against Special Counsel Robert Mueller, former FBI Director James Comey and his 2016 campaign rival Hillary Clinton are well-known. But his invective against Rep. Cummings uses dehumanizing language like “disgusting” and “infested.”  His remark, “no human being would want to live there,” implies that those who do live there are less than human.  He referred to Rep. Cummings, an erudite, 68-year-old attorney with a long history of dedicated public service, as “brutal.” 

His disdain for urban America and the people who live there is obvious.  

President Trump is given to demanding credit for the relatively low Black unemployment rate – which fell by more than half during President Obama’s tenure, and is down about 20 percent since President Trump’s inauguration. But the Black unemployment rate remains twice that for white Americans. Black households hold less than a dollar in wealth for every $15 held by white households. White median income is nearly 39 percent higher. 

President Trump needs a plan to address these disparities. We have implored him to adopt the provisions of the National Urban League’s Main Street Marshall Plan, which was adapted into the Jobs and Justice Act by members of the Congressional Black Caucus. 

Trump’s disparagement of Rep. Cummings is unlikely to deter or dissuade the Oversight Committee’s investigation, and his dismissive attitude will not deter the resolve of its citizens or Rep. Cummings to work for the betterment of a great American city - Baltimore.


30TBE 7/31/19 ▪ 80 Pine Street ▪ New York, NY 10005 ▪ (212) 558-5300

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