Trump labels Al Sharpton a ‘con man’ amid attacks on Cummings – By Quint Forgey (Politico) / July 29 2019
President Donald Trump on Monday alleged that Al Sharpton, the minister and civil rights activist, “Hates Whites & Cops” — launching a new Twitter offensive against another African American leader after controversially assailing Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) over the weekend.
“I have known Al for 25 years. Went to fights with him & Don King, always got along well,” Trump wrote online, referencing the famed black boxing promoter.
“He ‘loved Trump!’ He would ask me for favors often,” the president wrote of Sharpton. “Al is a con man, a troublemaker, always looking for a score. Just doing his thing. Must have intimidated Comcast/NBC. Hates Whites & Cops!”
Trump’s message accompanied a re-posted tweet from Sharpton, in which the reverend posted a picture of himself on what appeared to be an airport escalator and wrote: “Arrived in DC from Atlanta, headed to Baltimore. Long day but can’t stop.”
Beginning Saturday, Trump has unloaded a steady torrent of vitriolic tweets targeting Cummings and the city of Baltimore, which is partly included in the lawmaker’s majority-black district. Cummings is the chairman of the powerful House Committee on Oversight and Reform, and is overseeing several investigations into the administration.
Sharpton responded to the president’s broadside in a tweet less than a half-hour after the initial attack, posting a years-old picture of Trump speaking to him, Rev. Jesse Jackson and legendary soul musician James Brown at a convention of Sharpton’s National Action Network.
“Trump at NAN Convention 2006 telling James Brown and Jesse Jackson why he respects my work. Different tune now,” Sharpton wrote online.
Sharpton is scheduled to appear in Baltimore on Monday alongside former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, where they will hold a press conference to “address Trump’s remarks & bi-partisan outrage in the black community,” as well as host a discussion on “Reversing the Economic Erosion of Home Ownership in Black Communities.”
“Al Sharpton would always ask me to go to his events. He would say, ‘it’s a personal favor to me,’” Trump continued on Twitter later Monday morning. “Seldom, but sometimes, I would go. It was fine. He came to my office in T.T. during the presidential campaign to apologize for the way he was talking about me. Just a conman at work!”
The president has drawn widespread condemnation from national Democrats in the past month for racist rhetoric aimed at a high-profile quartet of freshman lawmakers. The four members of the so-called “squad,” who are all women of color, include Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).
“Baltimore, under the leadership of Elijah Cummings, has the worst Crime Statistics in the Nation. 25 years of all talk, no action!” Trump wrote Monday. “So tired of listening to the same old Bull… Next, Reverend Al will show up to complain & protest. Nothing will get done for the people in need. Sad!”
The president also posted: “If the Democrats are going to defend the Radical Left ‘Squad’ and King Elijah’s Baltimore Fail, it will be a long road to 2020. The good news for the Dems is that they have the Fake News Media in their pocket!”
Al Sharpton is scheduled to appear in Baltimore on Monday and will hold a press conference to “address Trump’s remarks & bi-partisan outrage in the black community.” | Amy Harris/Invision/AP
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/07/29/trump-al-sharpton-elijah-cummings-feud-1439101
