Trump and Sharpton’s Twitter beef has been stewing for decades

President Donald Trump has entered into yet another racially insensitive Twitter tumble with a member of Congress, this time over remarks he made while criticizing Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings.

Trump took to Twitter on Saturday to call black lawmaker Cummings a “bully” for admonishing Border Patrol workers, and called Cummings’ West Baltimore district one of the country’s most “dangerous” and “a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess.”

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. His district is considered the Worst in the USA......

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 27, 2019

Cummings dismissed the president’s remarks on Saturday, instead asking Trump to endorse legislation to lower the price of prescription drugs for his constituents. Trump ignored Cummings’ retort and instead retweeted a video of a backyard strewn with garbage, saying that the congressman “does NOTHING for his very poor, very dangerous and very badly run district!”

On Sunday evening, the Rev. Al Sharpton shared a picture of himself on an escalator in what appears to be a train or airport station on Twitter. “Arrived in DC from Atlanta, headed to Baltimore. Long day but can’t stop,” wrote Sharpton. Sharpton then announced moments later that he and conservative political commentator Michael Steele would be holding a press conference to decry “Trump’s remarks about Baltimore & its Leadership.” Early Monday morning, Trump took to Twitter to call Sharpton a “con man” who hates “whites & cops.” 

I have known Al for 25 years. Went to fights with him & Don King, always got along well. He “loved Trump!” He would ask me for favors often. Al is a con man, a troublemaker, always looking for a score. Just doing his thing. Must have intimidated Comcast/NBC. Hates Whites & Cops! https://t.co/ZwPZa0FWfN

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2019

Sharpton quickly shot back, saying that if he was actually a “con man,” Trump would “would want me in his cabinet.” He also shared a photo of himself with Trump in 2006 at a National Action Network convention, claiming that the president was praising his work at the time.

Trump at NAN Convention 2006 telling James Brown and Jesse Jackson why he respects my work. Different tune now. pic.twitter.com/mvNQmPdLUh

— Reverend Al Sharpton (@TheRevAl) July 29, 2019

Trump then wrote a string of tweets aimed at both Cummings and Sharpton, claiming that Baltimore has the highest crime rates in the country and that Sharpton often asked him to show up at events. 

Baltimore, under the leadership of Elijah Cummings, has the worst Crime Statistics in the Nation. 25 years of all talk, no action! So tired of listening to the same old Bull...Next, Reverend Al will show up to complain & protest. Nothing will get done for the people in need. Sad!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2019

If the Democrats are going to defend the Radical Left “Squad” and King Elijah’s Baltimore Fail, it will be a long road to 2020. The good news for the Dems is that they have the Fake News Media in their pocket!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2019

Al Sharpton would always ask me to go to his events. He would say, “it’s a personal favor to me.” Seldom, but sometimes, I would go. It was fine. He came to my office in T.T. during the presidential campaign to apologize for the way he was talking about me. Just a conman at work!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2019

At a press conference in Baltimore on Monday morning, Sharpton said that Trump has “particular venom for blacks and people of color."

Now maybe Sharpton was just sticking up for Cummings, but it’s impossible to ignore that the social justice activist and the president have been at each other’s throats for years now. In 2016, Sharpton told the Daily News that Trump only ran for president to boost his brand, while admitting that his relationships with Don King and Mike Tyson led to him and the Donald doing “a little business” together in Atlantic City. And in the 1980s, the pair found themselves on opposing sides when Sharpton was raising money on behalf of the Central Park Five and Trump took out full-page newspaper advertisements calling for the death of the teens. 

This new Twitter outburst follows Trump’s recent scandal in which he told four women of color in Congress – all citizens of the United States, and all but one of them born here – to “go back” to “where they came from.” 

Sadly, the Baltimore area has been especially susceptible to crime, The New York Times reported in May, but incidents of violence have largely been traced back (by residents) to city-instituted segregation. And Baltimoreans were quick to denounce Trump’s remarks about their city. “Better to have some vermin living in your neighborhood than to be one,” wrote the Baltimore Sun’s editorial board in a seething response.

Meanwhile, Trump isn’t in a great position to throw stones about vermin. It was reported in February that Trump Tower has received health code violations every year since 2014 and that “live mice” were found in Trump Tower Grill. And the president’s senior advisor/son-in-law Jared Kushner owns a series of properties near Baltimore – some of which are infested with mice, the Boston Globe reports.