Baltimore Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young criticized President Trump Monday after Mr. Trump spent the weekend attacking the Maryland port city as a “rodent infested mess.”
When asked by CNN’s “New Day” if he had anything he’d like to say to the president, Mr. Young said bluntly, “Yeah. Stop tweeting!”
“No president in the modern history of the presidency has done any childish behavior like this president has exhibited,” the Democratic mayor said, adding that Mr. Trump could help cities like Baltimore, but “he’s so interested in childish tweets.”
“He’s the most powerful man on the face of the Earth as president of the United States of America and this is below the president to do these kind of things. He should be uniting this country instead of racially dividing us,” Mr. Young said. “I mean, a president [has] have never in my lifetime exhibit this kind of behavior. He’s alienated our allies around the country, I mean what else is he going to do?”
The mayor said the president has never reached out to him to discuss conditions and criticized Mr. Trump for not following through on reforming infrastructure.
“He had a plan he was going to do infrastructure. We’re still waiting on that. We have an aging infrastructure in the city of Baltimore with an unfunded mandated by the EPA for us to correct it, and we have to constantly raise water rates on the poor people of the city of Baltimore. We’re a poor city. Do we have problems? Yeah. We have problems with crimes and everything else just like any other major city,” he said.
Mr. Young then referenced Mr. Trump’s attacks on Baltimore’s representative, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, and the “squad” of congresswomen of color, suggesting the president’s diatribes are racially charged.
“He has a pattern now of attacking people of color. I mean if you want to help us, help us. Don’t talk about us, send the resources that we need to rebuild America.”
“He’s talking he wants to ’make America great again’? Put the money in the cities that need it the most, but what he’s doing is he’s making America the laughing stock of the world. He’s alienated our allies. I mean, come on, no president have ever done anything like that. Our country is in turmoil under his leadership,” he said.
Mr. Young took office in May after Catherine Pugh resigned amid fraud allegations regarding sales of her children’s book, “Healthy Holly.”
The president has drawn controversy for his attacks on Baltimore as a “rodent infested mess” and also for going after Mr. Cummings.
Mr. Trump said Monday that if Democrats continue to support Mr. Cummings, then “it will be a long road to 2020.”
Jessica Chasmar contributed to this report.
• Bailey Vogt can be reached at bvogt@washingtontimes.com.
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