Trump sparks outrage for calling US city of Baltimore a 'rodent-infested mess'

Washington D.C. [USA], July 28 (ANI): US President Donald Trump was on Saturday hit by fresh accusations of racism after he attacked a prominent African-American lawmaker and branded the majority-black city of Baltimore as "rodent-infested mess" triggering widespread outrage.
Trump's outburst came in a series of tweets aimed at Democratic Representative Elijah Cummings, a critic of Trump's administration whose district covers much of Baltimore, The Hill reported.
"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, when actually his Baltimore district is FAR WORSE and more dangerous. His district is considered the Worst in the USA," the president wrote on Twitter.
"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," he added.
Trump asserted that Cummings's district was the "worst-run" in the US, claiming that the Maryland city was "corrupt" and that "no human being would want to live there."
"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!" he said.
The district of Baltimore consists of nearly 55 per cent African-Americans and 35 per cent whites. It is the second most wealthy and educated among Maryland's majority-black districts.
Cummings later responded to the early morning broadside as a number of his Democratic colleagues rushed to his defence.
"Mr President, I go home to my district daily. Each morning, I wake up, and I go and fight for my neighbours," the Congressman tweeted.
"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.
Trump's early morning attack came weeks after Cummings called the treatment of migrant children at US-run facilities on the southern border "government-sponsored child abuse."
Cummings, who has repeatedly condemned the Trump administration's immigration policies and the federal government's treatment of immigrants at the border, went off on acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan last week over the conditions of US-Mexico border facilities that house migrants.
According to Fox News, Baltimore Mayor Bernard C "Jack" Young, said in a statement that it was "completely unacceptable for the political leader of our country to denigrate a vibrant American City like Baltimore, and to viciously attack US Representative Elijah Cummings a patriot and a hero."
"Mr Trump's rhetoric is hurtful and dangerous to the people he's sworn to represent," he stressed.
The president's remarks came less than two weeks after the US House of Representatives condemned him for "racist" comments targeting a Somali-born congresswoman, Ilhan Omar.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi -- whose father represented the city in Congress, and, along with her brother, served as its mayor -- echoed those sentiments, condemning Trump's tweets as racist.
"@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. #ElijahCummingsIsAPatriot," Pelosi tweeted.
Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib, two of the four Democratic congresswomen who Trump previously attacked and members of the House Oversight Committee, defended Cummings.
"Yo Trump, Hands off #ourchairman @RepCummings who is centered in American values that you will never understand. He is a fighter for the people & a leader you will never be," Tlaib of Michigan said. "While you go on vacations & tweet, @RepCummings held a hearing on high costs of medicine just yesterday."
Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, tweeted of Cummings, "He makes the country better. You want to be on his team." (ANI)