WTF Just Happened Today

Monday, July 29, 2019

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1/ Trump called Elijah Cummings a "brutal bully" and his Baltimore-based district a "disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess" that "is considered the worst run and most dangerous anywhere in the United States. No human being would want to live there." Trump also called Cummings, a black civil rights icon, a "racist." Trump's tweets appeared to be in response to a Fox & Friends segment on the same topic that ran earlier in the day, which included images of rundown and neglected apartment buildings in Baltimore. As chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, Cummings has initiated most of the investigations into the Trump administration. Last week, Cummings was authorized to subpoena work-related text and emails by White House officials, including Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. Trump called Cummings' "radical 'oversight' is a joke!" (Baltimore Sun / New York Times / Washington Post / Washington Post / The Hill)

• Trump denied being a racist, saying that "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." Trump added: "Dems always play the race card when they are unable to win with facts." (BBC)

• The Baltimore Sun responded to Trump: "Better to have a few rats than to be one." The editorial accused Trump of deploying "the most emotional and bigoted of arguments" against a Democratic African American congressman from a majority-black district. (Baltimore Sun / Washington Post)

• Four years ago, Trump criticized Obama for not doing enough to address problems in Baltimore. Trump claimed that "I would fix it fast!" (Washington Post)

• Trump attacked Rev. Al Sharpton, calling him "a con man" who "Hates Whites & Cops!" Sharpton had tweeted a photo of himself at an airport and "headed to Baltimore." (New York Times)

• ???? Day 917: The House Oversight and Reform Committee authorized subpoenas for senior White House aides official work communications sent via personal email and cellphone. The White House refused to turn over the messages voluntarily earlier this month. Democrats have raised questions about whether Jared Kushner's WhatsApp communications with foreign officials, Ivanka Trump's us...

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