Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) apologized after mistakenly tweeting out a photo of himself on Saturday with the late Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) to commemorate the death of Rep. John Lewis (D-GA).
&#8220;Earlier today I tweeted an incorrect photo,&#8221; a penitent Rubio tweeted. &#8220;John Lewis was a genuine American hero I was honored to appear together in Miami 3 years ago at an event captured in video below My God grant him eternal rest[.]&#8221;
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Earlier today I tweeted an incorrect photo 
John Lewis was a genuine American hero
I was honored to appear together in Miami 3 years ago at an event captured in video below
My God grant him eternal rest<a href="https://t.co/aEm4MxKxBP">https://t.co/aEm4MxKxBP</a> <a href="https://t.co/0UpWSG3vNQ">pic.twitter.com/0UpWSG3vNQ</a>
&mdash; Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) <a href="https://twitter.com/marcorubio/status/1284572127421698050?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 18, 2020</a></blockquote>
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After taking flak on Twitter for his gaffe that confused the two late civil rights leaders, Rubio deleted the incorrect tweet that he had briefly made into his profile picture.
“It was an honor to know &amp; be blessed to serve in Congress with John Lewis a genuine &amp; historic American hero,” Rubio wrote with a picture of Cummings.
&#8220;That is Elijah Cummings,&#8221; tweeted Astead Herndon, a reporter for The New York Times, which was a sentiment many others on Twitter reiterated, including Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY).
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This is Elijah Cummings <a href="https://t.co/y68fbahAJm">https://t.co/y68fbahAJm</a>
&mdash; Steadman™ (@AsteadWesley) <a href="https://twitter.com/AsteadWesley/status/1284564198111031297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 18, 2020</a></blockquote>
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.<a href="https://twitter.com/marcorubio?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@marcorubio</a> this is a disgrace and as the senior U.S. Senator from your state, you as well as your staff should know the difference between the late Congressman Elijah Cummings and Congressman John Lewis. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DISGRACEFUL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DISGRACEFUL</a>&#8230; correct it and get it right! <a href="https://t.co/nfFwBtBOiN">https://t.co/nfFwBtBOiN</a>
&mdash; Adriano Espaillat (@RepEspaillat) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepEspaillat/status/1284566235389341697?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 18, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Marco Rubio’s tribute to John Lewis obliviously features a photo of him and Elijah Cummings. He even made it his avatar. <a href="https://t.co/Go0OtgdvRm">pic.twitter.com/Go0OtgdvRm</a>
&mdash; Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) <a href="https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1284566299063070721?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 18, 2020</a></blockquote>
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That’s the late Elijah Cummings, Senator <a href="https://twitter.com/marcorubio?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@marcorubio</a> <a href="https://t.co/2bIvwcCGRd">pic.twitter.com/2bIvwcCGRd</a>
&mdash; Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) <a href="https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1284565425112530944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 18, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Rubio spokesman Nick Iacovella blamed the mistake on a photo originally taken for The Philadelphia Inquirer that was mislabeled, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/18/us/marco-rubio-elijah-cummings-john-lewis.html?smtyp=cur&amp;smid=tw-nytimes" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The New York Times</a>.
Joining Rubio in his gaffe was Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), who posted an image to Facebook of himself with Cummings in front of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History in Washington, D.C.
&#8220;America has lost a legend with the passing of Congressman John Lewis, of Georgia,&#8221; wrote Sullivan in part, who later deleted the post. &#8220;Congressman Lewis&#8217; courage and principled leadership helped guide America through one of the most challenging periods in its history, calling our country to live up to its highest ideals with justice and equality for all people regardless of color or creed.”
According to The New York Times, a spokesman for Sullivan sent out an email that said, “Senator Sullivan’s staff made a mistake trying to honor an American legend.&#8221;
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Sen. Dan Sullivan joins Sen. Marco Rubio in posting a picture of the late Elijah Cummings in their tribute to civil rights icon John Lewis. <a href="https://t.co/EdrUWmKIw7">pic.twitter.com/EdrUWmKIw7</a>
&mdash; Travis Akers (@travisakers) <a href="https://twitter.com/travisakers/status/1284597807928811522?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 18, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Lewis and Cummings were sometimes confused, which led Lewis to release a tongue-in-cheek <a href="https://johnlewis.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-john-lewis-announces-plans-grow-beard" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">statement</a> last year announcing he would grow a beard to prevent being confused with his congressional colleague. “Just this weekend, I went to church in Maryland. Someone came up to me and said, ‘Hi, Mr. Cummings! I vote for you all the time,’’’ the statement quoted Lewis in part. “I just said thank you. What else could I say? That’s when I decided, I should just grow a beard.”
&#8220;Rep. Lewis’s announcement comes after years of &#8216;baldist&#8217; press reports that have confused the two famously clean shaven, African-American members of Congress,&#8221; the statement continued. &#8220;Both are outspoken opponents of the administration and have served in the House more than 53 years combined. To make things even more confusing, Rep. Cummings is chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, while Rep. Lewis chairs the Oversight Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee.&#8221;
Lewis <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/congressman-john-lewis-dead-at-80-elected-officials-praise-his-civil-rights-legacy" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">died Friday at age 80</a> after battling pancreatic cancer. He was a major figure of the civil rights movement, participating in lunch counter sit-ins during the 1960s, and was the youngest member of the &#8220;Big Six,&#8221; a group of leaders who organized Martin Luther King Jr.&#8217;s March on Washington in 1963.
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/congressman-john-lewis-dead-at-80-elected-officials-praise-his-civil-rights-legacy" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Congressman John Lewis Dead At 80; Elected Officials Praise His Civil Rights Legacy</a>

Marco Rubio.

Marco Rubio Apologizes After Tweeting Out Photo Of Elijah Cummings To Commemorate John Lewis

Elijah Cummings

John Lewis

Marco Rubio

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) was elected to chair the prestigious U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee on Wednesday following the death of Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD).
The Oversight and Reform Committee is the House&#8217;s primary investigative committee. It has broad legislative authority and jurisdiction, which makes it one of the most influential panels in Congress. The Oversight chairman is one of only three in the House who have the ability to issue subpoenas without a full panel vote or consulting the ranking member.
The Oversight Committee is also one of the congressional panels leading the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, and as the chair, Maloney will have a key role in the proceedings.
&#8220;I am deeply humbled and grateful to my colleagues for entrusting me with the chairmanship,&#8221; Maloney said in a press release. &#8220;I&#8217;m honored by this opportunity to do more for the American people and will do my best to follow the honorable example that Chairman Cummings left for us all. There&#8217;s much work to be done, and I can&#8217;t wait to get started.&#8221;
Maloney, who has represented New York&#8217;s 12th Congressional District for 14 terms, has been leading the committee on an acting basis following the death of Cummings earlier in October.  She initially joined the committee in 1993 when she was first elected to Congress and unsuccessfully challenged Cummings for the chairmanship in 2010.
Maloney is currently the panel&#8217;s most tenured Democrat member and she is also the first woman to lead the influential committee in its entire 92-year history. She is also a close ally of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
&#8220;Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney has been a force for progress in America for decades,&#8221; Pelosi said in a statement. &#8220;At the helm of the Joint Economic Committee, she has honed a keen understanding of the priorities and needs of the American people, and has worked tirelessly to deliver progress that lifts up families in every corner of America. She brings outstanding legislative experience and knowledge of the workings of the Congress that will strengthen the Oversight Committee&#8217;s work at this critical time in our nation&#8217;s history.&#8221;
House Democrats voted on Wednesday to elect Maloney, who edged out Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-VA) by a margin of 133 to 86 for the position. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) was also briefly vying for the position before he ultimately dropped out of the race.
The New York lawmaker, however, received a host of significant endorsements for the position, including from Reps. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Lacy Clay (D-MO), two of the longest serving Democrats and Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), the third-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives.
Maloney, who&#8217;s district includes a large portion of Manhattan, is most well-known for advocating on behalf of the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks and their families. In May, she famously wore a New York Fire Department (FDNY) jacket to the Metropolitan Museum of Art&#8217;s gala in order to bring awareness to the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. The bipartisan legislation was signed two months later virtually ensuring permanent financial support for first responders and their families.
&#8220;Congratulations to [Maloney] on her election to serve as the first woman Chair of the [Oversight Committee],&#8221; said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD). &#8220;I know she will continue on the path set forward by Rep. Cummings while bringing her own perspective and years of experience to this role.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/impeachment-is-now-over-trump-highlights-key-testimony-that-strikes-at-heart-of-dems-case">Impeachment ‘Is Now Over’: Trump Highlights Key Testimony That Strikes At Heart Of Dems’ Case</a>

Rep. Carolyn Maloney

New York Congresswoman Will Take Over Oversight Committee Involved In Impeachment Inquiry

Donald Trump

Impeachment

One thing Barack Obama loves &#8212; really loves &#8212; is&#8230; himself.
Over the years, the former president has used all kinds of events to talk about himself. Often, they&#8217;re the most inappropriate venues at which to deliver an egocentric speech.
Like Elijah Cummings&#8217; funeral.
Cummings was a civil rights icon. Born in 1951 to sharecropper parents, he was destined for big things. When he was just 11, he led a group of boys to a whites-only pool in Baltimore and jumped in. Whites protested, holding up signs that said, “Keep Our Pool Germ Free” and “White People Have Rights Too,&#8221; the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/10/17/white-mob-attacked-elijah-cummings-integrating-swimming-pool-he-was/">Washington Post</a> reported.
At one point, a mob &#8220;surrounded the pool, held back by a line of police with K-9 dogs, while the kids tried to splash and play. Then, over the police officers’ heads, the mob threw rocks and bottles. One of them hit Cummings in the face, cutting his eyebrow and leaving a scar he carried all his life.&#8221;
Cummings attended college and then got his law degree. He served for 14 years in the Maryland House of Delegates and then won election to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served until his death Oct. 17 at age 68.
But Obama used a eulogy for the late Democratic lawmaker on Friday to talk about himself. In a 15-minute speech, &#8220;Obama referenced himself 30 times, averaging twice per minute. Overall, he used the word &#8216;I,&#8217; 24 times, &#8216;me&#8217; 3 times, and &#8216;my&#8217; another 3 times,&#8221; <a href="https://news.grabien.com/story-supercut-obama-uses-elijah-cummings-funeral-talk-obsessively">Grabien</a> reported.
“I remember I had the pleasure of meeting Elijah’s mother, Ruth, and she told me she prayed for me every day, and I knew it was true, and I felt better for it,” Obama said. “I was thinking I would want my daughters to know how much I love them, but I would also want them to know that being a strong man includes being kind — a strong man includes being kind,” he said.
Obama even sought to buck up his flagging legacy. “Once during my presidency, when the economy still looked like it might plunge into depression, when the health-care bill was pronounced dead in Congress, I would watch Elijah rally his colleagues,” Obama said.
It&#8217;s not the first time Obama obsessed about himself in a speech. In April, Obama outdid himself.
“President Obama was in Germany on Saturday, ostensibly to speak about ‘community leadership and civic engagement’ on behalf of his eponymous Obama Foundation, but Berliners soon discovered his main topic of interest was Barack Obama. Obama talking about himself in an almost obsessive manner is no new phenomenon, but today he shattered his own records. Over the course of a 90-minute town hall with ‘emerging leaders,’ Obama mentioned himself an eye-popping 467 times,” <a href="https://www.apnews.com/fae0fd059feb5db82d56cca8e0bbdda3">Grabien</a> reported then.
After that speech, Thomas Lifson, editor and publisher of <a href="https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2019/04/obama_shatters_previous_record_mentions_himself_467_times_in_one_speech_in_berlin.html">American Thinker</a>, offered an insight.
&#8220;The post-presidential era of his life seems to be a bit of a challenge to the ego of Barack Hussein Obama. Never shy about referring to himself while president, now that man in the White House is reversing his policies and spectacularly succeeding, it’s got to be hard on his self-esteem. And let’s not forget the psychological pressure that may be building in the wake of the collapse of the Russia Hoax and the possible investigation of its origins,” he wrote.
In his eulogy, Obama also targeted his successor &#8212; without naming him, of course.
“There’s nothing weak about kindness and compassion,” he said. “There’s nothing weak about looking out for others. There’s nothing weak about being honorable. You’re not a sucker to have integrity and to treat others with respect.”
Wrote Grabien:
<blockquote>Pointing to a sign referring to “the Honorable,” Mr. Cummings, Obama continued: “That’s a title that we confer to all kinds of people who get elected to public office. We’re supposed to introduce them as honorable. But Elijah Cummings was honorable before he was elected to office. There’s a difference. There’s a difference if you were honorable and treated others honorably outside the limelight.”
The crowd knew Obama was digging at President Trump — who had a notoriously testy relationship with the departed lawmaker — and cheered wildly.</blockquote>

Mourners Attend Funeral Of Rep. Elijah Cummings In Baltimore

ME ME ME: Obama Uses Elijah Cummings Funeral To Talk About Himself  — Again

Barack Obama

Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) gave an emotional eulogy on Thursday for his &#8220;dear friend&#8221; and Democratic colleague Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), who was lying in state at the United States Capitol.
&#8220;We are called to give honor where honor is due and so it is fitting that we are here today to honor a friend,&#8221; Meadows said. &#8220;He&#8217;s called a number of things: a father, husband, friend, chairman. For me, I was privileged enough to call him a dear friend. Some have classified it as an unexpected friendship, but for those of us that know Elijah, it&#8217;s not unexpected or surprising.&#8221;
Cummings had <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/congressman-elijah-cummings-passes-away">passed away</a> last week due to complications concerning &#8220;longstanding health challenges.&#8221; The 68-year-old congressman served as the chairman of the prestigious U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform and represented Maryland&#8217;s 7th Congressional District for more than two decades.
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Meadows and Cummings had both been known to refer to the other as a best friend, despite their obvious differences. Meadows founded the conservative House Freedom Caucus and has been one of President Donald Trump&#8217;s staunchest defenders, while Cummings was a proud progressive and a key figure in the impeachment inquiry into the president.
While paying tribute to his late friend in National Statuary Hall, Meadows described Cummings as having &#8220;a smile that would consume his whole face&#8221; but that &#8220;he also had eyes that would pierce through anybody that was standing in his way.&#8221;
&#8220;Not only was he a quality man, but we were able to share a number of personal stories and intimate secrets that Elijah never shared with anyone because he was a man of his word, and he said he never would,&#8221; Meadows said. &#8220;And yet, through the tears of the past few days, I&#8217;m reminded of one particular conversation because of who Elijah is.&#8221;
&#8220;I reminded him not too long ago of a quip that me made,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;He said Darrell Issa was going to make him famous, and I reminded him that he is not defined by other people. He is defined by the character of his heart, the honesty of his dialogue, and the man that we will miss.&#8221;
The duo&#8217;s close friendship was thrown into the spotlight in February after freshman Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) accused Meadows of being racist during an Oversight Committee hearing. Meadows, who was visibly upset, demanded that Cummings strike her remarks from the Congressional record.
&#8220;I&#8217;ve said it – and gotten in trouble for it – that you&#8217;re one of my best friends,&#8221; Cummings said to Meadows in front of the committee while trying to diffuse the heated situation.
&#8220;Scripture talks about, &#8216;Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me,'&#8221; Meadows continued during his eulogy. &#8220;&#8216;In my father&#8217;s house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.&#8217; So Elijah has left his tent to go to a mansion, a better place.&#8221;
&#8220;Perhaps this place and this country would be better served with a few more unexpected friendships,&#8221; he added. &#8220;I know I&#8217;ve been blessed by one.&#8221;

Former Maryland Representative Elijah Cummings Lies In State At U.S. Capitol

WATCH: GOP Congressman Chokes Up Eulogizing Best Friend Elijah Cummings

Mark Meadows

The office of Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) announced early Thursday morning that the congressman has died due to complications concerning &#8220;longstanding health challenges.&#8221;
Cummings, who served as the chairman of the prestigious U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform, represented Maryland&#8217;s 7th Congressional District for more than two decades. He was elected to his seat 12 times by overwhelming majorities, never receiving less than two-thirds of the vote.
&#8220;Congressman Cummings was an honorable man who proudly served his district and the nation with dignity, integrity, compassion and humility,&#8221; Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, the congressman&#8217;s widow, wrote in a statement. &#8220;He worked until his last breath because he believed our democracy was the highest and best expression of our collective humanity and that our nation&#8217;s diversity was our promise, not our problem. It&#8217;s been an honor to walk by his side on this incredible journey. I loved him deeply and will miss him dearly.&#8221;
The 68-year-old congressman had recently undergone an undisclosed medical procedure but had not returned to Congress following the recess as anticipated.
According to <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md-pol-cummings-medical-20191016-hpfkqhuhovdslgjwmn6syyltiq-story.html">The Baltimore Sun</a>, Cummings skipped more roll call votes earlier this week, when recess concluded, and he has not participated in a roll call vote since September 11. Neither his office, nor Democratic leadership, would comment on his condition or expected return.
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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Breaking?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Breaking</a> from <a href="https://twitter.com/RepCummings?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RepCummings</a> his office says he has passed away <a href="https://twitter.com/wbalradio?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@wbalradio</a> <a href="https://t.co/CHRRR6QNo6">pic.twitter.com/CHRRR6QNo6</a>
&mdash; Anne Kramer WBAL (@AnneKramerWBAL) <a href="https://twitter.com/AnneKramerWBAL/status/1184752711394299904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 17, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Cummings was born in 1951 to a family of sharecroppers and Baptist preachers. He attended Baltimore City College high school, followed by Howard University, where he was elected student government president.
The Maryland lawmaker notably was inspired to become an attorney after watching the television series &#8220;Perry Mason&#8221; as a child.
&#8220;Many young men in my neighborhood were going to reform school,&#8221; he told the East Texas Review. &#8220;Though I didn&#8217;t completely know what reform school was, I knew that Perry Mason won a lot of cases. I also thought that these young men probably needed lawyers.&#8221;
Cummings received his J.D. from University of Maryland School of Law in 1976 and was admitted to the Maryland Bar later that year. He subsequently practiced law for nearly two decades before he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
During the same time period, Cummings served in the Maryland General Assembly. While in the state legislature, he was not only Chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus, but also served as the Speaker Pro Tempore — he was the first African American to serve in that role in Maryland&#8217;s history. Cummings has since served on a number of state and local boards in and around Baltimore.
Cummings won his U.S. Congressional seat in 1996, but gained national attention in 2015 after he was selected to serve on the House&#8217;s Select Committee on Benghazi. The committee was tasked with investigating the events that occurred in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens. As the committee&#8217;s ranking member, Cummings became then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton&#8217;s chief defender.
He was &#8220;the quintessential speaking-truth-to-power representative,&#8221; Herbert Smith, a political science professor at McDaniel College told <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/10/17/elijah-cummings-dies-baltimore/">The Washington Post</a>. &#8220;Cummings has never shied from a very forceful give-and-take.&#8221;
&#8220;Our heartfelt prayers go out to the family of Rep. Cummings, who generously shared his God-given gifts and talents [with] the people of his beloved city, state and nation for so many years,&#8221; the Baltimore Archdiocese said in a statement. &#8220;We give thanks for his dedicated service and pray for the repose of his soul.&#8221;
Cummings passed away at Johns Hopkins Hospital in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland.

House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler Holds Press Conference As Lawsuits Against Barr, McGahn Authorized

Congressman Elijah Cummings Passes Away

Democratic Party

A representative for Vice President Mike Pence has responded to inquiries made by House Democrats into the VP’s trip to Ireland earlier this month.
Mark T. Short, Pence’s chief of staff, sent a letter to House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) regarding the latter’s investigation into the vice president’s recent trip. The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/51930/house-republicans-accuse-democrats-fishing-ashe-schow">previously reported</a> that Cummings demanded documents from the White House, the Vice President’s Office, the Secret Service, and the Trump Organization, none of which handled Pence’s travel and accommodations for Ireland.
“Please be advised that the Department of State approved all lodging accommodations for the Vice President and [Office of the Vice President] OVP staff related to the September 2019 trip to Poland, Ireland, Iceland, and the United Kingdom,” Short wrote in the letter, obtained by The Daily Wire. “OVP did not book or reserve any of the hotel accommodations in connection with this trip, and no funds appropriated to OVP were expended during the trip.”
Short continued by explaining that Pence’s stay at President Donald Trump’s hotel in Iceland occurred because that hotel offered the best rates on short notice.
“The Department of State conveyed to OVP in August (prior to the trip) that the general room rates offered by Trump International Doonbeg were competitive and even less expensive than those offered by the Radisson in Limerick, Ireland,” Short wrote. “The Radisson ultimately served as the hotel for the traveling press.”
Pence was invited to visit Ireland in March. Pence accepted, and the trip was planned for September 6, 2019, with one overnight stay in Doonbeg. Pence was scheduled to meet with Ireland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade just outside Doonbeg. On August 29, according to Short’s letter, Pence was asked to attend an event in Warsaw, Poland on September 1 “to commemorate Polish determination in fighting Nazi Germany and subsequent Soviet occupation.”
Trump could not attend the Poland event because he needed to oversee the federal response to Hurricane Dorian, Short explained.
“Instead of flying back and forth to Europe twice in the same week, the Office of the Vice President asked if the Ireland meetings could be moved to September 2, 2019 and September 3, 2019,” Short wrote. “The government of Ireland accommodated the date change request, but needed to rearrange the order of the original schedule.”
After consulting with the Secret Service, the original hotel plan could not be changed on short notice, so they needed to find different accommodations.
Short criticized Cummings for leaving out information regarding the Ireland trip, specifically, Cummings’ claim that no official meetings took place outside of Dublin, Ireland.
“On the contrary, the Vice President participated in a formal bilateral meeting with the Honorable Simon Coveney, Ireland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in Shannon, Ireland, which is in western Ireland,” Short wrote.
Cummings had sought information related to Pence’s travel because, as NBC <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/pence-s-doonbeg-detour-cost-nearly-600k-ground-transportation-fees-n1052401">reported</a>, the stay at Trump’s hotel was evidence “the president is using his position to enrich himself.”
House Oversight ranking member Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) had previously responded to Cummings investigation by accusing the Maryland Democrat of a “partisan attack.”
“Although you coordinated your attack with Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler, you failed to consult with any Republican Members before demanding voluminous information from four separate entities &#8211; none of which bore responsibility for the lodging and accommodations in Ireland,” Jordan wrote. “We can only assume that these letters were the result of a rushed process to capitalize on news reporting about the Ireland travel, rather than responsible and deliberative oversight.”

Mike Pence

Mike Pence Responds To House Democrats’ Investigation Into Ireland Trip

Ireland

Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee have accused committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) of conducting a “partisan attack” on Vice President Mike Pence’s trip to Doonbeg, Ireland, by demanding documents and information from entities that had nothing to do with the travel and accommodations for the trip.
“Although you coordinated your attack with Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler, you failed to consult with any Republican Members before demanding voluminous information from four separate entities &#8211; none of which bore responsibility for the lodging and accommodations in Ireland,” wrote committee ranking member Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH). “We can only assume that these letters were the result of a rushed process to capitalize on news reporting about the Ireland travel, rather than responsible and deliberative oversight.”
That reporting, from left-leaning media outlets, suggested Pence’s stay at President Donald Trump’s golf course in Ireland was evidence “the president is using his position to enrich himself,” as NBC <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/pence-s-doonbeg-detour-cost-nearly-600k-ground-transportation-fees-n1052401">reported</a>. Receipts from the State Department show the trip cost taxpayers $600,000.
“The receipts totaled more than $599,000 in conjunction with the vice president&#8217;s stay, which required him to travel back-and-forth between Doonbeg and Dublin, where his official meetings were set to take place,” the outlet reported. “During then-President Barack Obama&#8217;s three-day visit to Ireland in 2013, the State Department spent just <a href="https://www.thejournal.ie/obama-ladies-ireland-1407732-Apr2014/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">$114,000</a> on ground transit, paying the same limousine company. The government paid the same company <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/05/irish-funeral-firm-rents-out-four-limousines-to-trump-for-1m" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">nearly $1 million</a> for Trump&#8217;s ground transportation during a June visit to the property.”
Cummings, however, has asked for information from the White House, the Vice President’s Office, the Secret Service, and the Trump Organization, which don’t handle the lodging and travel for the vice president.
“As you surely know, the Vice President &#8216;s Office and the White House do not expend appropriated funds for official international travel. Instead, the State Department bears responsibility for the Vice President &#8216;s travel arrangements, including the travel to Doonbeg. You, however, chose not to seek information from the State Department,” Jordan wrote.
Cummings had previously demanded information into official stays at Trump-owned properties in an apparent effort to prove the president is corrupt. As Jordan wrote, Cummings’ previous attempt failed.
“Following the President&#8217;s stay at Trump Turnberry in Scotland in July 2018, you asked the independent State Department Office of Inspector General (OIG) to examine any possible financial impropriety related to the travel. In July 2019, the OIG reported back to you that the State Department had saved taxpayer money by staying at the Trump Turnberry property, explaining that the ‘rate offered by the Trump Tum berry [was] the lowest of all the hotels being utilized for this VIP visit,’” Jordan wrote. “You have not acknowledged these facts.”
Jordan then excoriated Cummings for having claimed previously that he would “be about the business of being fair” and would “seek the truth and nothing but the truth.” Cummings also promised he would “not be about the business of wasting taxpayer dollars.”
“Your continuous political attacks on the Trump Administration do not advance this goal,” Jordan concluded.

Jim Jordan Elijah Cummings

House Republicans Accuse Democrats Of Fishing Expedition Into Mike Pence’s Trip To Ireland

Jim Jordan

Ranking member of the House Oversight Committee Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) is demanding answers over Democrats&#8217; mysterious trips to Mexico, including details into the alleged &#8220;coaching&#8221; of migrants to exploit United States immigration law, a letter from the Republican exclusively obtained by <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-republicans-trips-to-mexico-democrats">Fox News</a> says.
The letter, addressed to committee chairman Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), inquires about &#8220;at least two committee staff trips into Mexico in August — one of which required Border Patrol agents to provide a special escort back into the U.S.,&#8221; Fox reports. Republicans were not informed of the trips, according to Rep. Jordan.
&#8220;Although you have the authority to direct Committee staff to travel internationally on official committee business, you have not explained why you authorized this travel into Mexico or what you sought to learn through these trips,&#8221; the Ohio Republican wrote.
Democrats are seeking &#8220;to delegitimize the administration’s border security efforts and vilify the men and women who protect our border,&#8221; Jordan accused, noting that the trips &#8220;could continue to result in misleading information about the administration&#8217;s border security efforts.&#8221;
The letter specifically asks about Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) and alleged &#8220;coaching&#8221; of migrants. According to a report from <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/democratic-congresswoman-secretly-sending-staff-into-mexico-to-coach-asylum-seekers">The Washington Examiner</a> in July, Escobar was &#8220;sending staff to Mexico&#8217;s northern border town of Ciudad Juárez to find migrants returned from El Paso, Texas, under the &#8216;remain in Mexico&#8217; policy, then coaching them to pretend they cannot speak Spanish to exploit a loophole letting them to return to the U.S.&#8221;
&#8220;What we believe is happening is Veronica Escobar&#8217;s office is going … to basically second-guess and obstruct work already done by the Border Patrol,&#8221; one senior union official source told the Examiner.
As noted by Fox, Escobar was in attendance during one of the secretive trips on August 21.
Three days after the report was published, Escobar called the piece a &#8220;fabricated&#8221; &#8220;hit piece&#8221; that is &#8220;fueled by xenophobia and misinformation.&#8221;
&#8220;The [Washington Examiner] has published a fabricated story resulting in death threats against me and my staff,&#8221; she claimed via Twitter on July 8. &#8220;This hit piece is fueled by xenophobia and misinformation. But guess what, guys? These attacks won’t deter me doing my job, upholding my oath, and pushing for accountability.”
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">The <a href="https://twitter.com/dcexaminer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dcexaminer</a> has published a fabricated story resulting in death threats against me and my staff.
This hit piece is fueled by xenophobia and misinformation. But guess what, guys? These attacks won’t deter me doing my job, upholding my oath, and pushing for accountability.
— Rep. Veronica Escobar (@RepEscobar) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepEscobar/status/1148360642023317506?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 8, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Jordan asked Democrats about the purpose of the visit, &#8220;which individuals and groups they interacted with, why Escobar’s office was invited, and what &#8216;coaching&#8217; on immigration laws, if any, was given to migrants,&#8221; Fox said of the letter.
At the end of last month, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) barred Democratic staff from visiting Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facilities, reported <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dhs-bars-house-oversight-dems-from-visiting-cbp-facilities-at-border-after-rude-and-disruptive-behavior">Fox</a>. According to the DHS, Democrats were &#8220;rude&#8221; to officers, missed scheduled facility meetings, and stayed longer in areas than permitted.
&#8220;Due to the operational burden placed on the field by their refusal to comply with instruction during last week’s STAFFDEL [staff delegation visit], CBP pulled the trip in which more site visits were to take place at CBP and ICE facilities this week,&#8221; a senior DHS official told the outlet via email. &#8220;DHS communicated to the committee that due to their conduct, CBP could not support visits from the committee this week.&#8221;
Cummings claimed the action from Homeland Security was retaliatory against Democrats for allegedly “reveal[ing] potentially serious ongoing problems with the treatment of children and adults in DHS custody,&#8221; a <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dems-fire-back-after-dhs-bars-staff-border-facilities">letter</a> from the committee chairman said.

Rep. Elijah Cummings

Democrats ‘Coaching’ Migrants During Secret Mexico Trips, Leaked Letter Alleges

Illegal Immigration

Immigration

Migrants

Southern Border

Here&#8217;s what President Donald Trump tweeted about Baltimore&#8217;s congressman and his city: &#8220;Rep. Elijah Cummings has been a brutal bully, shouting and screaming at the great men &amp; 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.&#8221;
&#8220;As proven last week during a congressional tour, the border is clean, efficient and well run, just very crowded,&#8221; Trump added. Cummings&#8217; &#8220;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 &amp; filthy place.&#8221;
President Donald Trump&#8217;s claims suggesting that Rep. Elijah Cummings&#8217; Baltimore-area district is &#8220;considered the worst run and most dangerous&#8221; has been called racist. But whether Trump&#8217;s claims have any merit is an empirical matter settled by appealing to facts. Let&#8217;s look at a few.
In 2018, Baltimore was rated one of the &#8220;Rattiest Cities&#8221; in the nation by pest control company Orkin. According to Patch Media, although there has been progress in the last few years, Baltimore ranks ninth in rat infestation, down from its sixth position two years ago on Orkin&#8217;s list.
What about safety? In 2017, St. Louis had the nation&#8217;s highest murder rate, at 66.1 homicides per 100,000 residents. Baltimore came in second, with 55.8 murders per 100,000 people. The unpleasant fact is that predominantly black and Democratic-run cities have the worst records of public safety. The Trace, an independent nonprofit news organization, using 2017 data from the FBI&#8217;s Uniform Crime Reporting program, listed the 20 major U.S. cities with the highest homicide rates. After St. Louis and Baltimore, Detroit was third, with 39.8 murders per 100,000 people. Other cities with high murder rates included New Orleans; Kansas City, Missouri; Cleveland; Memphis, Tennessee; and Newark, New Jersey. With 24.1 murders per 100,000 residents, Chicago ranked ninth in the nation, followed by Cincinnati and Philadelphia. Washington, D.C., was 17th.
What about education in Baltimore? In 2016, in 13 of Baltimore&#8217;s 39 high schools, not a single student scored proficient on the state&#8217;s mathematics exam. In six other high schools, only 1% tested proficient in math. In raw numbers, 3,804 Baltimore students took the state&#8217;s math test and 14 tested proficient. Citywide, only 15% of Baltimore students passed the state&#8217;s English test. Money is not the problem. Of the nation&#8217;s 100 largest school systems, Baltimore schools rank third in spending per pupil.
Baltimore&#8217;s black students receive diplomas that attest that they can function at a 12th-grade level when in fact they may not be able to do so at a sixth-, seventh- or eighth-grade level. These students and their families have little reason to suspect that their diplomas are fraudulent. Thus, if they cannot pass a civil service exam, they will accuse the exam of being racist. When they get poor grades in college and flunk out, they will attribute their plight to racism. The information that these black students have is that they, just as white students, have a high school diploma and the only explanation they see for unequal outcomes is racism. The same story of poor education outcomes can be told about most cities with large black populations.
The problems that black people confront are immune to who is the president of the U.S. Those problems were not ameliorated when Barack Obama was president. Those problems are not going to be ameliorated by Trump&#8217;s presidency, though the black unemployment rate is considerably lower. The lesson for black people is that politicians and government handouts are not solutions. If they were, at a public expenditure that tops $22 trillion over the past half-century, black people would not be confronted with today&#8217;s problems.
Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University. To find out more about Walter E. Williams and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.

School Classroom

WILLIAMS: Was Trump Right About Baltimore?

Baltimore

This week, after The Baltimore Sun slammed a conservative activist who organized 170 volunteers to pick up 12 tons of trash in the city, questioning his motives, a philanthropist threw down the gauntlet to the newspaper, offering to pledge $100,000 to clean up the city if the Sun would retract its editorial.
The <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/editorial/bs-ed-0808-conservatives-clean-west-baltimore-20190806-hmc2gndnhfhodch4yxromipgnq-story.html">editorial was titled</a>, “We assume it was pure motives that led a Trump supporter to launch a cleanup in Cummings’ district, right?” In the op-ed, the Sun blasted activist Scott Presler, whose volunteers completed the massive job in only 12 hours, cynically writing, “Look, we appreciate anyone who is willing to roll up their sleeves to help Baltimore. More than 170 people came from all over the country and cleaned up nearly 12 tons of trash, according to Mr. Presler’s Twitter feed. He doesn’t post any photos of the totality of the trash, so we’ll have to take his word for it. But if this was all about &#8216;Americans helping Americans,&#8217; why all the videos of Baltimore residents thanking Mr. Trump for bringing attention to the issue? We happen to know that not everybody in West Baltimore feels that way. And in the same posts as the videos, why the frequent reminders that this is in act Mr. Cummings’ district?&#8221;
The op-ed added, “Whatever he says his motives were, Mr. Presler’s presence in Baltimore reinforces the tired image of our failing urban cores. That the poor people in this dilapidated city can’t take care of their own neighborhoods and all the public officials around them have failed as well. The bureaucratic, all-talk Democrats strike again. If a crowd of volunteers could clean up 12 tons of trash in 12 hours, how incompetent and helpless must Baltimoreans be if they can’t manage it in decades, right?”
But then the Sun contradicted its previous statement, writing, “We also hope Mr. Presler keeps his promise to return to Baltimore once a month. It would definitely give his motives more credibility.”
Philanthropist Bill Pulte fired back at the Sun on Twitter, writing, “My teammates and I will pledge $100,000 to Baltimore neighborhood clean up (I know a thing or two about that!) in Baltimore if the Baltimore Sun retracts this article that discourages people who want to help the City, when the amazing residents want them (to) help!”
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">My teammates and I will pledge $100,000 to Baltimore neighborhood clean up (I know a thing or two about that!) in Baltimore if the Baltimore Sun retracts this article that discourages people who want to help the City, when the amazing residents want them help! <a href="https://t.co/0vh444NAaM">https://t.co/0vh444NAaM</a>
— Bill Pulte (@pulte) <a href="https://twitter.com/pulte/status/1159104682004025345?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2019</a></blockquote>
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In late July, President Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/50329/trump-supporters-clean-west-baltimore-and-liberal-amanda-prestigiacomo">targeted</a> West Baltimore, specifically, the district of Rep. Elijah Cummings, tweeting:
<blockquote>Rep. Elijah Cummings has been a brutal bully, shouting and screaming at the great men &amp; 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. As proven last week during a Congressional tour, the Border is clean, efficient &amp; well run, just very crowded. Cumming[s&#8217;] 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 &amp; filthy place.</blockquote>
H/T <a href="https://twitchy.com/brettt-3136/2019/08/08/philanthropist-pledges-100000-to-clean-up-baltimore-if-newspaper-retracts-its-hit-piece-on-volunteers/">Twitchy</a>

Baltimore Trash

Baltimore Sun Rips Trump Supporter For Cleaning Up Baltimore. Philanthropist Fires Back With One Hell Of An Offer.

On Wednesday&#8217;s episode of &#8220;The Ben Shapiro Show,&#8221; Ben Shapiro discusses the disunity in the country fostered by Trump&#8217;s critics after the shooting, particularly how it&#8217;s underscored by a Democratic Congressman who doxxed his constituents because of their support for Trump. Video and partial transcript below:
The media are running with all of this that Trump is a divisive figure, that he shouldn&#8217;t show up [to El Paso and Dayton]. So, <a href="http://www.abc15.com/news/national/critics-question-whether-trump-visit-to-el-paso-and-dayton-will-help-healing">CNN</a> has a headline today, &#8220;Critics Question Whether Trump Visit to El Paso and Dayton Will Help Healing.&#8221; Well, no bleep, Sherlock. I mean, of course they&#8217;re questioning that. This is part of the narrative and it&#8217;s also part of the entire debate. According to CNN, Trump will travel Wednesday &#8220;to the scenes of back-to-back mass shootings that stunned the nation and left at least 31 people dead, but his appearances in Ohio and Texas aren&#8217;t being well received by all local officials — some of whom say it would be best if the commander in chief avoided their grief-stricken cities. Exact plans for Trump&#8217;s visits to Dayton and El Paso haven&#8217;t been released and were still being finalized by the White House advance teams on Tuesday afternoon.&#8221;
There was the same sort of hubbub in the run-up to President Trump visiting Pittsburgh in the aftermath of the Tree of Life shooting. Everything went fine in Pittsburgh, it was fine. There were a few protesters, that was it. But obviously that&#8217;s not really what the media want here. What the media want here is not a unifying moment; what they want is a divisive moment.
According to CNN, &#8220;The question his critics have is whether he will comfort their cities in mourning or deepen the divisions.&#8221; Well, I could ask the same question of the media. Are they interested in comforting the cities in mourning, or are they interested in deepening political divisions for political purposes? <a href="https://www.abc15.com/news/national/critics-question-whether-trump-visit-to-el-paso-and-dayton-will-help-healing">CNN</a> says, &#8220;Trump has at most moments of his presidency appeared more focused on driving a divisive political message than acting as a unifier. While he has expressed intense interest in appearing &#8216;presidential,&#8217; including through the military trappings of the job, he has not eagerly adopted the tone his predecessors have used from the Oval Office or other official settings.&#8221;
All of that may be true. It is also true that Barack Obama is a highly divisive president, just in a very different and more subtle way. I&#8217;m not going to equate the level of the rhetoric of the two, but there is no question that Barack Obama was deeply divisive, and people had similar questions. I mean he showed up to Dallas — after the Dallas police shooting —and nobody said he shouldn&#8217;t. Nobody said he shouldn&#8217;t come.
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What all of this leads up to is the conclusion that for a lot of folks on the left, they&#8217;re actually unhappy at Trump now trying to do the &#8220;unity&#8221; routine. They&#8217;re unhappy about it because what they would prefer is that unity not take place. What they would prefer is the continuing narrative that Trump is a white supremacist and his supporters are white supremacists. This is why Joe Biden is planning an entire address in Iowa today, about white supremacists, in which presumably he will blame President Trump for the shooting in El Paso, Texas.
And it&#8217;s not just Joe Biden; over the last 24 hours something truly egregious has been done by a congressperson named Joaquin Castro (D-TX). So, Joaquin Castro is the congressperson from San Antonio. He is engaged in the widespread mythmaking now, on the part of members of the media and on the left that everyone on the right is supportive of a mass shooting. So, they use the transitive property. It goes something like this: President Trump is responsible for the El Paso shooting — that&#8217;s not true — but they say Trump is responsible for the El Paso shooting. Then they say, therefore, anyone who supports Trump is, by the transitive property, responsible for the El Paso shooting. So, Joaquin Castro is Julian Castro&#8217;s (D-TX) brother and a congressperson from San Antonio. He put out a target list; he <a href="http://twitter.com/Castro4Congress/status/1158576680182718464">tweeted out</a>:
<blockquote>Sad to see so many San Antonians as 2019 maximum donors to Donald Trump —the owner of Bill Miller barbecue, owner of historic Pearl, realtor Phyllis Browning etc. Their contributions are fueling a campaign of hate that labels Hispanic immigrants as &#8220;invaders.&#8221;</blockquote>
And then he put out a full list, a list of 44 different people. I don&#8217;t believe that&#8217;s the actual full list of everybody who maxed out to Trump in San Antonio. I&#8217;ve seen the list from the FEC; it&#8217;s a bit longer. But in any case, he puts out a list of 44 people in his own district — with their names — who are funding Trump. The idea being that he would like to see them bear some sort of public scrutiny; he would like to see them harassed. That&#8217;s something he would like to see, something bad happen to them. This is doxing. Now people say that it is publicly available information. Yes, doxing can be publicly available information. The question is whether you are driving people to target people based on their political viewpoint. And that&#8217;s exactly what Joaquin Castro is doing right there.
He&#8217;s not trying to hide the ball on this stuff, by the way. This does have consequences. We live in a time when people were standing outside Mitch McConnell&#8217;s house, outside his home that&#8217;s publicly available information. It is also disgusting. People are standing outside Mitch McConnell&#8217;s home and chanting at him and calling for his death. People have shown up outside Tucker Carlson&#8217;s home. Over the last 24 hours, a self-described member of Antifa in New York called for people in L.A. to show up at my house and harass me or kill me on Twitter. We filed the appropriate police reports. It is in law enforcement&#8217;s hands now. And as always, I do have 24/7 security.
You want to make the country a worse place? This is how you do it, right here. This is making the country a worse place because not only is the suggestion that people are responsible for the shooting who were not responsible for the shooting, the idea is we are now going to publicly put their faces out there and make them targets. I mean basically Joaquin Castro&#8217;s calling these people accessories to murder. He&#8217;s saying Trump is an accessory to murder, and then these people are accessories to Trump, so they are accessories to murder. There is a conspiracy to murder and therefore these people are part of that. They are part of that problem.
How do you think people are going to react to that? You want to talk about heightening rhetoric and incitement? This is a lot closer to that than anything that Trump has said about illegal immigration. His statements about illegal immigration are generalized and somewhat vague. They are not targeted to specific individuals &#8230; I mean the media went nuts when Trump said Elijah Cummings (D-MD) is a crap congressperson. The media went crazy when someone took a picture of AOC (D-NY) eating a burger in public. And now the media are covering for this. They&#8217;re covering for Joaquin Castro putting out a target list of people, who donated to Trump, which is specifically designed to incite action against those people. There&#8217;s no other reason to put out the list, it&#8217;s why it&#8217;s being done. It&#8217;s disgusting; it&#8217;s divisive; it&#8217;s wrong. But Democrats are out there defending it because this runs as part of their narrative.
<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ben-shapiro-show/id1047335260">Download full episode of the &#8220;Ben Shapiro Show Sunday Special” on iTunes.</a>
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/show/ben-shapiro-show">Watch the &#8220;Ben Shapiro Show Sunday Special” on-demand!</a>

American Flag

SHAPIRO: Democrats And The Media Want Division, Not Unity

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Ben Shapiro

Joaquin Castro

Julian Castro

Media

Mitch McConnell

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) extended an offer to President Donald Trump on Wednesday to tour Baltimore alongside him, after the president criticized the conditions of the congressman’s district.
“I want President Trump to come to my district,” Cummings said during a fireside chat at the National Press Club. “Oh God, I want him to come so bad.”
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Trump ignited a firestorm after he had previously tweeted a series of attacks against the Maryland lawmaker, criticizing him for bullying Border Patrol agents over the conditions of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement facilities along the southern border while the district Cummings was elected to represent remained, according to Trump, a “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess.”
Cummings subsequently defended his service to the people of Maryland’s 7th Congressional District, as well as his handling of the House Oversight and Reform Committee during his tenure as chairman.
The president, however, continued his barrage of criticism and went on to tweet a slew of video clips showing Baltimore’s piling garbage and deteriorating conditions.
“I want him to come. I want him to come. I want him to come and look at my entire city. I’ll ride with him for hours if he asked to,” Cummings said. “Then I want him to go into Baltimore County where the richest of the rich are, then I want him to go into Howard County where the richest of the rich are, and then I want him to see all the wonderful things that are happening.”
Cummings, however, declined to tour a Housing and Urban Development (HUD) facility in Baltimore with HUD Sec. Ben Carson after the Trump administration extended the invitation in July. At the time, Cummings’ office <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/50120/cummings-turns-down-trump-administrations-molly-prince">told The Daily Wire</a> he was unable to join “due to scheduling conflicts.”
Cummings revealed on Wednesday that he has not asked the president about accompanying him to Baltimore because he “can’t get to him,” but welcomed the media to write editorials about his offer.
After his initial attack, Trump was immediately met with widespread backlash over what many on the Left claimed were racially motivated accusations. In response, the president doubled down on the remarks and accused Democrats of always playing “the race card.”
“Just take a look, the facts speak louder than words! The Democrats always play the Race Card, when in fact, they have done so little for our Nation’s great African American people,” Trump tweeted. “Now, lowest unemployment in U.S. history and only getting better. Elijah Cummings has failed badly!”
Interestingly, the city of Baltimore has been a top contender for the most rat-infested cities in the nation. <a href="https://patch.com/maryland/baltimore/baltimore-most-rat-infested-cities-list-again-orkin">The list</a>, which is compiled annually by the pest control company Orkin, placed Baltimore as one of the top 10 “Rattiest Cities” for the second year in a row in 2018.
Baltimore also had the worst homicide rate among the 50 largest cities in the country, as well as the second highest violent crime rate overall, according to <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-ci-fbi-data-20180924-story.html">FBI data</a> released in 2018. At the time, Republican Gov. Larry Hogan called the news “shocking and disappointing,” but further noted that “it doesn’t come as a complete surprise.”

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