President Donald Trump stepped up his attacks on prominent African Americans Monday morning, this time turning his anger toward the Rev. Al Sharpton.
Sharpton tweeted a picture saying he was headed to Baltimore, prompting Trump to call him a “con man” who “hates whites & cops!” He also claimed Sharpton, who hosts the MSNBC talk show PoliticsNation, must have “intimidated” NBC.
“I have known Al for 25 years. Went to fights with him & Don King, always got along well. He ‘loved Trump!’ He would ask me for favors often,” Trump tweeted. “Al is a con man, a troublemaker, always looking for a score. Just doing his thing. Must have intimidated Comcast/NBC. Hates Whites & Cops!”
In a second tweet, Trump slammed Maryland’s Democratic Congressman Elijah Cummings, again. He then mentioned Baltimore’s crime rate and said Sharpton’s trip to the city was a waste of time.
“So tired of listening to the same old bull,” Trump tweeted. “Next, Reverend Al will show up to complain & protest. Nothing will get done for the people in need. Sad!”
Trump posted the tweets shortly before Sharpton held a news conference in Baltimore to denounce the president’s weekend social media posts about the city and Cummings, who represents the area.
Sharpton first responded by tweeting a photo of Trump looking happy to speak with him, Rev. Jesse Jackson and the late James Brown in 2006.
Related Story: CNN’s Victor Blackwell Gets Emotional on Air After Trump Rips ‘Infested’ Baltimore
Hours later, while speaking at a Baltimore church, the civil rights leader and former Democratic presidential candidate, unloaded on Trump.
“He has a particular venom for blacks and people of color,” Sharpton said.
“Yes, I make trouble for bigots. I made trouble for him with Central Park. I made trouble with him for birtherism, and I’ll continue to make trouble for bigots,” he continued. “As far as me being a con man, if he really thought I was a con man, he’d be nominating me for his cabinet.”
[Watch the video below]
That last comment drew laughter from the people standing alongside Sharpton, including former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele, who served as Maryland’s lieutenant governor.
Steele called Trump’s comments “reprehensible.”
“Mr. President, your reprehensible comments are like water off a duck’s back when it come to this community. It just washes over them. It doesn’t stick to them, it does not stain them,” he said.
He urged Trump to stop tweeting and visit Baltimore.
“Put the tweet down brother, and show up,” Steele added.
Related Story: Why Al Sharpton Hasn’t Endorsed a 2020 Democratic Candidate Yet
Trump touched off this latest racial war of words earlier this month when he told four Democratic Congresswomen of color to “go back” to their countries after they spoke out against his immigration policies.
Then over the weekend he directed his anger at Congressman Cummings.
“Why is so much money sent to the Elijah Cummings district when it is considered the worst run and most dangerous anywhere in the United States,” Trump tweeted. “No human being would want to live there. Where is all this money going? How much is stolen? Investigate this corrupt mess immediately!”
Trump also called Baltimore “a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess.”
He was widely criticized for the comment, including by CNN anchor and Baltimore native Victor Blackwell, as well as by The Wire creator David Simon.
Discover more from Urban Hollywood 411
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.