Worse than Baltimore? Trump won't attack ravaged red states because his friends run them
President Donald Trump is right when he says Baltimore’s got problems. Like all big cities, it has crime, drugs, corruption, pockets of poverty and yes, rodents. But it also has wonderful neighborhoods, beautiful parks, a world class university, rich history and a lively, vibrant culture.
Obviously, Trump hasn’t singled out Charm City because he's concerned about it. It's only 40 miles away, but he has never visited as president and hasn't offered to lift a finger to help. Shouldn't presidents want to make things better for all Americans? Not Trump, whose only concern is that Rep. Elijah Cummings, the powerful Democratic chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, believes in the Constitution and its time-honored system of checks and balances — and is using his authority to probe the president and his administration. And half of Cummings' district is in Baltimore.
Or perhaps I’m wrong and Trump really does care. But if that’s the case, why stop at Baltimore? His loud criticism of it can be contrasted with his silence on other places that also have serious problems.
Least educated, most dangerous
The least educated states are, from 46th to 50th: Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, West Virginia and Mississippi.
Highest poverty rates (46th to 50th): Kentucky, West Virginia, New Mexico, Louisiana, Mississippi.
Most dangerous (46th to 50th): Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, New Mexico.
Highest share of people on food stamps in 2017 (46th to 50th): Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, West Virginia, New Mexico.
Most dependent on federal aid — i.e., “socialism” (46th to 50th): Kentucky, Arizona, New Mexico, Louisiana, Mississippi.
Most polluted (46th to 50th): Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana.
Most people lacking health insurance (46th to 50th): Florida, Georgia, Alaska, Oklahoma, Texas.
What’s interesting is that of the 16 states mentioned in these seven categories, 15 are red states that voted for Trump in 2016. Trump can't mention their problems, because he fears offending people who voted for him.
Deep red hellholes in the South
Trump thinks Baltimore’s a hellhole? The data shows Mississippi, a deep red state, is poorly educated and mired in poverty and crime and heavily dependent on federal aid. Of course, because Mississippi’s governor, two senators and three out of four Congressmen are Republicans who are all in the tank for him, Trump won’t say a word. The good people of Mississippi deserve — and should demand — better.
The good people of Kentucky also deserve better. Another state that can’t support itself and is heavily dependent on Washington (it gets $2.61 for every dollar it sends to Washington), the Bluegrass State also ranks poorly on the poverty and pollution scale.
Trump criticizes Cummings, who has been in Washington since 1996. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has been in the Senate since 1984 — what’s he done? Besides watering down and flat-out blocking efforts to safeguard our electoral process, I mean. Turning a blind eye to Russian attacks on our democracy — which has kept him busy since the Obama era — is nothing less than dereliction of duty, and although he bristles at his new nickname, “Moscow Mitch,” I say if the boot fits, comrade, wear it.
You get the idea. When Trump, who wants those critical of America to leave, criticized it himself in his dark, creepy “American carnage” inaugural address (no inspirational “shining city on a hill” or “malice towards none” for him), he could have been talking about these ravaged, failing, mostly red states just as much as Baltimore’s 7th congressional district. But he’ll never do that, of course.
Jared Kushner could help Baltimore
One way Trump could help Baltimore clear up its rodent infestation without spending a dime of taxpayer money is to summon his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, down the hall to the Oval Office and tell him to be a better landlord in that city. The Kushner family — which owns nearly 9,000 rental units in 17 locations, most of them in Baltimore County — racked up 200-plus housing violations there in 2017 alone.
More Baltimore commentary: The president is right about Baltimore. Are Democrats really prepared to defend failure?
ProPublica reporter Alec MacGillis, who found substandard conditions were par for the course in Kushner properties, tells the story of one resident, Marquita Parmely: “She had a mouse infestation that was severe enough that her 12-year-old daughter recently found one in her bed. Parmely also has a 2-year-old with asthma, which is aggravated by allergens in mice droppings. She moved her own bed and other furniture away from the walls to dissuade mice, kept the family’s laundry in tote bags after mice started appearing in the hamper and vacuumed twice a day.” The greedy Kushner clan fixes things only when threatened with fines, and even then, “violations on nine properties were not addressed, resulting in monetary sanctions."
How ironic that Trump complains of problems that a greedy, uncaring member of his own White House staff has been complicit in creating. It seems that the great city of Baltimore isn’t the only place that needs to be cleaned up.
Paul Brandus, founder and White House bureau chief of West Wing Reports, is the author of "Under This Roof: The White House and the Presidency" and is a member of USA TODAY's Board of Contributors. Follow him on Twitter: @WestWingReport
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump attacks Baltimore but not failing red states he needs in 2020
