Congressman Elijah Cummings is responding to a week of attacks by President Trump against him and his city.
Cummings represents Maryland's 7th District which includes over half of Baltimore City, most of the majority African American sections of Baltimore County, and the majority of Howard County. Cummings said Trump will see strong people who get up and go to work on the early bus. The 13-term Congressman said he'll see organizations that have come to the inner city and instead of criticizing it, asked how can they help. Cummings said that what upsets him most is that when people criticize his hometown they are stepping on the hope of the children who live there.
Cummings comments came Saturday at the grand opening of the Druid Heights Community Development Corporation’s Nature Play Space on McCulloh Street, formerly a vacant lot used for dumping, to now, an outdoor area for kids to play and the community to gather.
Baltimore police are investigating a burglary at the home of Maryland Democratic Congressman Elijah Cummings. Police say the break-in happened last Saturday morning at Cummings' house in the city's Druid Heights neighborhood. It's unclear if anything was taken. In a statement released Friday morning, Cummings offered comments for the first time since the president's verbal salvo's were launched Saturday morning.
"[Someone] attempted to gain entry into my residence at approximately 3:40 a.m. on Saturday, July 27," said Cummings."
“I was notified of the intrusion by my security system, and I scared the intruder away by yelling before the person gained entry into the residential portion of the house," Cummings said. "I thank the Baltimore Police Department for their response and ask that all further inquiries be directed to them." Police had previously said only that the home in West Baltimore’s Druid Heights neighborhood was burglarized Saturday morning.
President Donald Trump alluded to the incident with a new tweet Friday morning: “Really bad news! The Baltimore house of Elijah Cummings was robbed. Too bad!” The burglary took place hours before President Trump launched a Twitter attack on Cummings by calling his Baltimore district a dangerous, disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess. The burglary occurred before Trump, a Republican, began a days-long Twitter attack on the Democratic congressman and the city of Baltimore that continues to dominate headlines and cause ripples in political circles.
Cummings visited Maryland's 7th district Thursday to give some residents a legislative update. The congressman says residents he spoke with encouraged him to keep doing his job and to continue fighting for them. Cummings, a prominent black congressman chairs the House Oversight Committee which is investigating the Trump administration and 2016 Presidential campaign.