At Ohio rally, Trump escalates attacks on liberal cities, says Dems ‘deliver poverty’
CINCINNATI — President Donald Trump on Thursday escalated his attacks on Baltimore and other diverse, liberal cities, telling a crowd in this key swing state that Democrats “deliver poverty for their constituents and privilege for themselves.”
“For decades, these communities have been run exclusively by Democrat politicians, and it’s been total one-party control of the inner cities,” Trump said. He called federal funding sent to these areas “stolen money and it’s wasted money, and it’s a shame.”
Trump steered clear of mentioning lawmakers by name, in a departure from his recent attacks on Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., whose district includes parts of Baltimore, and four minority Democratic congresswomen, including Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.
On Thursday night, he made only a passing mention to “four left-wing extremists” who he said are now leading the Democratic Party, then told the crowd in the mostly full U.S. Bank Arena: “We can name one after another, but I won’t do that, because I don’t want to be controversial. We want no controversy.”
The president’s remarks were in line with his recent denunciations of liberal enclaves as violent, dirty and outside the mainstream. Trump offered no policy proposals for how he plans to address the problems he says plague numerous cities across the country.
Trump won Ohio by 8 percentage points over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016, and the state is key to his 2020 reelection bid.
In recent days, Trump has escalated his attacks on Baltimore and Cummings, the House Oversight Committee chairman who has been spearheading investigations into Trump’s administration. Trump began by tweeting Saturday that Cummings represents a “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess” and that “No human being would want to live there.” The president lashed out anew on Tuesday, calling the city “corrupt” and saying its residents are “living in hell.”
Attacks on minority Democratic lawmakers have become a staple of Trump’s campaign in recent weeks, and the president’s base has responded in kind.
Last month, at a campaign rally in Greenville, N.C., the crowd responded to Trump’s attacks on Omar, who was born in Somalia, with chants of “Send her back! Send her back!”
The chant echoed the racist remarks Trump aimed at Omar and three other minority Democratic congresswomen — Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan — days earlier. Trump has accused the four lawmakers of making hateful comments about the country, setting off a controversy that led the House to vote to formally rebuke him.