What has Republican leadership done to South Carolina?

A recent Sun article compared the relative wealth, poverty and educational achievement of Rep. Elijah Cummings’ 7th district in Maryland to that of South Carolina’s 5th District that had been represented by Mick Mulvaney, who is President Donald Trump’s chief of staff (“An ‘interesting comparison:’ Elijah Cummings’ district and Mick Mulvaney’s former district, side by side,” Aug. 8). This comparison was noteworthy given some of President Donald Trump’s other tweets. For instance, the president said that “statistically, Baltimore ranks last in almost every major category.” The comparison in The Sun showed that Mr. Cummings’ district ranked more favorably than Mr. Mulvaney’s district in many relevant categories.

Take this comparison a step further and evaluate the wealth in Mr. Cummings’ district compared to wealth in other parts of the country. I analyzed wealth since Mr. Trump and his supporters do not seem to hold measures such as honesty, integrity, morality or decency in high regard, but they do consider wealth as a paramount measure of success. According to the latest census, the average household income of $51,000 in Mr. Cummings’ district is higher than the average household income in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, New Mexico, Tennessee and West Virginia.

The president attributed the maladies in Baltimore to the incompetence of many generations of Democratic political leadership. Since all these other states voted Republican in the last presidential election and have in many cases suffered from Republican leadership for generations, what will the president blame for their dismal performances?

Jack Kinstlinger, Towson