Ronna McDaniel: Cities with Democrats at the helm ‘are not seeing improvements’

Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel said President Trump’s tweets attacking Baltimore and Rep. Elijah Cummings are meant to call attention to Democrats too focused on the president and not helping their own districts.

“I think the president is making a point to Democratic lawmakers, which is you represent districts that are in distress and you’re more concerned about how to get free health care for people coming to this country illegally,” Ms. McDaniel said Tuesday on CNN’s “New Day.” “You’re more concerned about an investigation of Russia. Why aren’t you focused on the people in your district who are concerned about education and health care?

“It’s more singling out these Democrat congresspeople and saying ’why aren’t you helping people in your districts instead of focusing on people outside of your districts?’” she said. “The president is saying that the people in your district deserve to have you focus on the problem in your district, and guess what? Baltimore does have a high murder rate and yes there is a lot of poverty and I think a lot of people would like to see their congressional members and leaders focus on how do we solve the problems for the people we represent.”

Mr. Trump attacked Baltimore in a tweetstorm Saturday as a “rat and rodent infested mess,” starting a feud with Mr. Cummings, Maryland Democrat and chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee.

The president added that if Democrats support “King Elijah’s Baltimore Fail, it will be a long road to 2020.”

CNN’s John Berman then asked Ms. McDaniel about a recent Fox Poll finding 57% of respondents believe Mr. Trump does not respect racial minorities.

Ms. McDaniel blamed the media for not talking about falling black unemployment and poverty.

“Every four years we hear that ’Republicans are racist,’ but you know what? Democrats get continually elected and elected and elected and problems aren’t being solved in Baltimore, in Detroit, in cities across the country where Democrats are at the helm, we are not seeing improvements,” she said. “President Trump has been a champion for the African American community, and that story is not being told.”