The daughter of former President George W. Bush is calling for cooler heads to prevail following the latest rant by President Donald Trump, in which he attacked Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Maryland) over the conditions of his House district.
Jenna Bush Hager, presently a co-host on the Today show who has also worked as a part-time reading coordinator at a public charter school in Baltimore, tweeted about her experiences working within the city.
“I taught in West Baltimore. I adore my kids, their parents, and grandparents. They all want the same thing I want for my kids: the chance for their children to have safe, happy and productive lives,” Hager wrote.
She encouraged others to “think about the language we use, who it hurts.”
I taught in West Baltimore. I adore my kids, their parents, and grandparents. They all want the same thing I want for my kids: the chance for their children to have safe, happy and productive lives. Let’s think about the language we use, who it hurts. https://t.co/Y5nIJdu2Ib
— Jenna Bush Hager (@JennaBushHager) July 27, 2019
Hager was quoting a CNN segment featuring Victor Blackwell, a contributor to that network, who blasted Trump’s depictions of his home city of Baltimore. Trump, according to reporting from the BBC, called Cummings a “brutal bully,” and suggested the area was filthy and decrepit.
Cummings’s district “is a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess. If he spent more time in Baltimore, maybe he could help clean up this very dangerous & filthy place,” Trump said over the weekend.
His words were reminiscent to complaints he made two weeks earlier, in which he chastised four Congresswomen of color for their complaints of his administration and societal conditions in the United States. Although three of the four were born in the U.S., Trump told all four to “go back” to their countries of origin and fix their problems before describing ways in which America is lacking.
Many saw Trump’s complaints toward the four Congresswomen, as well as toward Cummings, as racist.
Blackwell, in a video that has since gone viral online, criticized Trump for his commentary against Baltimore.
“There are challenges no doubt, but people are proud of their community. I don’t want to sound self-righteous, but people get up and go to work there…They are Americans too,” Blackwell pointed out.