Trump accuses black lawmaker of being 'racist'

President Donald Trump on Sunday amplified his weekend Twitter attacks against Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), accusing the black lawmaker of being a racist, and denouncing Cummings and other Democrats for doing little to improve downtrodden areas in the city of Baltimore.

"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," the President tweeted on Sunday.

Mr. Trump's weekend of Twitter blasts at Cummings came a few days after a committee led by the Maryland Democrat had authorized subpoenas for emails and texts related to official business sent by White House aides on their personal accounts.

"His radical 'oversight' is a joke!" the President tweeted on Sunday afternoon, as he accused Cummings of being a 'brutal bully' for his questioning of a top Homeland Security official last week.

"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," Mr. Trump added Sunday on Twitter.

What generated most of the attention this weekend was a tweet sent early Saturday morning - after a segment had run on Fox News - which raised questions about the safety of the Baltimore-based district represented by Cummings, which the President labeled a 'disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess.'

It was the second time in recent weeks that the President had used the word 'infested' in a tweet - the first was when he told four minority women Democrats in the House to 'go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.'

A top White House official on Sunday denied that the President was putting out racist tweets or sentiments.

"It is my constitutional duty to conduct oversight of the Executive Branch," Cummings said in a Twitter reply to Mr. Trump.

Democrats in Congress rallied behind Cummings, as they denounced the President's latest tweets, which came on the heels of his social media blasts at four women Democrats in Congress.

"No President in modern history has so explicitly shown that he doesn’t care to represent all of the country," said Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV).

"Unpatriotic, racist insults from this president will not tear him down, and none of us should allow them to define us," said Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY).

"This president wants to distract with his racism so he can avoid accountability for his corruption," said Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), who has been a frequent target of Mr. Trump's tweets.

"I condemn the President's racist and hateful remarks," said Rep. Juan Vargas (D-CA).

GOP conservatives on social media meanwhile focused on run down areas in Cummings's district, which includes parts of Baltimore, plus surrounding suburbs, as their arguments were embraced by the President's son.

"The best way to help Baltimore and cities like it would be to stop electing democrats!!!" tweeted Donald Trump Jr.

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