Trump, Sharpton exchange barbs over Baltimore
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump attacked the Rev. Al Sharpton on Monday as “a con man” and someone who “Hates Whites & Cops,” just hours before Rev. Sharpton was scheduled to hold a news conference in Baltimore to decry Mr. Trump’s derogatory weekend tweets directed at the city and an African American congressman.
Rev. Sharpton, a former Democratic presidential candidate and MSNBC talk- show host, appeared in Baltimore alongside Michael Steele, who formerly chaired the Republican National Committee and served as Maryland’s lieutenant governor.
At the event, held at a Baltimore church, Rev. Sharpton said Mr. Trump had attacked the city and Rep. Elijah Cummings, DMd., in “the most bigoted and racist way.”
“He has a particular venom for blacks and people of color,” Rev. Sharpton said of Mr. Trump. “He attacks Nancy Pelosi, he attacks Chuck Schumer, he attacks other whites — but he never said their districts or their states are places that no human being wants to live,” the pastor added.
Mr. Steele criticized Mr. Trump for “reprehensive comments” and invited him to come to Baltimore. “Put the tweet down, brother, and show up,” Mr. Steele said.
In tweets beforehand, Mr. Trump said he had known Rev. Sharpton for 25 years. The president said he “[ w] ent to fights with him & Don King, always got along well. He ‘ loved Trump!’”
“He would ask me for favors often,” Mr. Trump added. “Al is a con man, a troublemaker, always looking for a score. Just doing his thing. Must have intimidated Comcast/ NBC. Hates Whites & Cops!”
Rev. Sharpton’s news conference comes two days after Mr. Trump criticized Baltimore as a “rodent infested mess” where “no human being would want to live” and attacked Mr. Cummings, who represents part of the city. Mr. Cummings chairs the House Oversight Committee, which has been holding an array of hearings critical of Trump administration practices.
Rev. Sharpton responded Monday morning on Twitter by sharing a photograph of Mr. Trump attending a 2006 conference hosted by Rev. Sharpton’s organization, the National Action Network. The photo also included singer James Brown and civil rights leader Jesse Jackson. “Trump at NAN Convention 2006 telling James Brown and Jesse Jackson why he respects my work. Different tune now,” Rev. Sharpton wrote.