Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney interviewed with host Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday” where he fired back at Wallace for insinuating that the President was “racial stereotyping” members of Congress.
This comes after President Trump ripped Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) Saturday on Twitter for being a “brutal bully” for his treatment of border patrol officials at committee hearings that he chairs. Further, the President described Cumming’s district as “far worse and more dangerous” than the southern border, adding that “no human being would want to live there.”
“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,” President Trump tweeted.
Trump was apparently referring to Cummings’ questioning of border officials in his role as chairman of the House Oversight Committee. This month, he yelled at acting Homeland Security chief Kevin McAleenan for saying the department was doing its “level best” when it comes to the humanitarian crisis at the border, as reported by Fox News.
“What does that mean? What does that mean when a child is sitting in their own feces, can’t take a shower? Come on man,” Cummings yelled. “What’s that about? None of us would have our children in that position. They are human beings.”
President Trump took note and fired back at Cummings and said that the detention centers at the border are “clean, efficient and well run, just very crowded.” He then compared that to the conditions in Cummings’ district. (Continued Below)
The Commander in Chief also wrote, “His district is considered the Worst in the USA. 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, “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!”
Mick Mulvaney defended President Trump on Sunday and explained that he is fighting back at illegitimate attacks about the border after accusations from Rep. Cummings. “Mr. Cummings [said] children were sitting in their own feces. That’s not right, that’s not accurate. Mr. Cummings hasn’t been to the border recently, certainly not under this administration. And when the President hears lies like that, he is going to fight back. That’s what you saw in those tweets.” (Continued Below)
“This goes back to the four members of the squad. Nobody objects to the President defending his border policies, but this seems Mick, worst kind of ‘racial stereotyping’. Black congressman, majority-black district… I mean, ‘no human being would want to live there’. Is he saying that people that live in Baltimore are not human beings?” Wallace asked.
“When the President attacks AOC+3, when he attacks the squad last week, he gets accused of being a racist. When Nancy Pelosi does it a few days later, the left and many members of the media come to Nancy’s defense. ‘She couldn’t possibly be racist, she was attacking their ideas.’ The President is doing the same. The President is attacking Mr. Cummings for saying things that are not true about the border. I think it’s right for the President to raise the issue,” Mulvany insisted.
He noted that if he was a lawmaker that has poverty in a district such as Baltimore, crime in Chicago, or homelessness in San Franciso and spent all of his time in Washington D.C. “chasing down the Mueller investigation and bizarre impeachment crusade”, that he would “get fired” adding that “the President is right to raise that [issue] and it has zero to do with race,” Mulvany said.
“You say it has zero to do with race. There is a clear pattern here, Mick. The fact is before his inauguration the President tweeted about John Lewis, a black congressman– he should spend time in his ‘infested’ district. Then two weeks ago, he goes after these 4 members of the squad, all women of color, and says they should go back to the ‘crime infested’ countries from which they come. Then, he talks about Elijah Cummings, and he says his district is ‘rat and rodent-infested’. ‘Infested’, it sounds like vermin, it sounds sub-human. And these are all 6 members of Congress, who are people of color,” Wallace claimed. (Continued Below)
Mulvaney fired back: “I think you’re spending way too much time reading between the lines.”
Wallace responded: “I’m not reading between the lines, I’m reading the lines.”
The Acting White House Chief of Staff concluded, “Have you seen the pictures on the internet this morning from Maryland? The richest state in the nation has abject poverty like that. A state, by the way, generations dominated by Democrats. I think it’s fair to have that conversation.”
Watch:
(Related: Terrence Williams Fearlessly Defends Trump & Calls Out Elijah Cummings: ‘We Need Term Limits!’)
