Maryland

Trump Disparages Baltimore Again, Calls It ‘Worst in Nation'

President Donald Trump in a series of tweets Sunday again took aim at Baltimore, this time calling it “the WORST IN NATION,” and urged voters to elect a Maryland Republican congressional candidate for the seat formerly held by the late U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings.

Trump tweeted he would “help" Baltimore if Kimberly Klacik wins the race for Maryland's 7th Congressional District and criticized the city's Democratic leadership. Klacik, who spoke during the Republican National Convention last month, gained attention last year after her social media posts showing trash in Baltimore prompted Trump to tweet that the district is a “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess.”

“As I have often said, Baltimore is last in everything, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU HAVE TO LOSE!” Trump tweeted.

Klacik is running against U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume. The Democrat defeated Klacik in a special election in April to fill the seat left vacant by Cummings’ death last year.

Klacik is now a member of the Baltimore County Republican Central Committee. Trump recently posted one of her ads on Twitter where she appears walking by vacant homes in Maryland’s largest city and criticizes Democrats for the squalor.

The majority-minority district includes a significant portion of Baltimore, as well as the city’s suburbs. While some parts have struggled with poverty and crime, the district also includes more affluent areas and some famous landmarks such as Johns Hopkins University and its hospital, as well as the Social Security Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Baltimore ended 2019 with 348 homicides, the fifth year in a row with more than 300 killings. As of Friday, the city has recorded 219 homicides and 471 nonfatal shootings in 2020. Both figures are down compared with the same period last year, when the city had tallied 235 homicides and 553 non-fatal shootings.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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