Trump Shifts Attacks From Rep. Elijah Cummings To Rev. Al Sharpton Calling Him A ‘Con Man’

After President Donald Trump’s weekend rant about Baltimore and its Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Maryland), he moved on to attack to Rev, Al Sharpton. 

On Monday morning, Trump retweeted a photo of Sharpton with the caption “Arrived in DC…headed to Baltimore,” and then unleashed a rant calling him a “con man.”

Sharpton soon tweeted back that he was not a “con man,” but if he was, Trump “he would want me in his cabinet.”

Sharpton has been a civil rights activist since 1969. He ran an unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2004 and has subsequently remained a leading figure while hosting MSNBC’s PoliticsNation. Sharpton has known Trump for many years.  

Sharpton told the New York Times that during his interactions with Trump he never heard any racist comments, but he “always sensed he was not comfortable being around [prominent people of color].” He also added that “[Trump’s] one of the few major figures that I’ve never seen a black on his C-suite. That takes effort in a city two-thirds black and brown.” 

Sharpton also posted an old photo of two saying that Trump was “telling James Brown and Jesse Jackson why he respects my work. Different tune now.”

In an interview with MSNBC, Sharpton said the president’s attacks on Cummings and the people of Baltimore was classic stereotyping and “racist.”

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On Monday, Sharpton met with former Republican National Committee chairman and Maryland’s Lieutenant Gov. Michael Steele in Baltimore. 

Article by Benjamin Wuersch