Trump attacks Rep. Elijah Cummings and Baltimore, seemingly quoting 'Fox & Friends' segment: 'No human being would want to live there'

Reuters, AP Photo/Patrick Semansky

President Donald Trump and Representative Elijah Cummings from Baltimore, Maryland.

• President Donald Trump spent Saturday morning tweeting attacks against Representative Elijah Cummings and his home city of Baltimore, saying "no human being would want to live there."
• Trump's tweets came minutes after a "Fox & Friends" segment aired on the subject of Cummings and Baltimore.
• The president seemingly quoted directly from the "Fox & Friends" segment, suggesting his tweets were incited by the on-air discussion itself, and the comparison drawn between the US-Mexico border and Baltimore by a conservative commentator. 
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President Donald Trump spent early Saturday morning tweeting attacks against Representative Elijah Cummings and the district of Baltimore, which he represents. The tweets corresponded with a simultaneously airing "Fox & Friends" segment, and quotes that match the president's tweets suggest the on-air discussion directly incited Trump's attacks. 

Trump's tweets match the order of the segment, as the president first tweeted "Rep, [sic] Elijah Cummings has been a brutal bully, shouting and screaming at the great men & women of Border Patrol about conditions at the Southern Border."

Trump's tweet corresponds with a clip shown at the beginning of the "Fox & Friends" segment of Cummings questioning Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan. 

"You feel like you're doing a great job, right? Is that what you're saying," Cummings is shown saying in the clip, from the hearing on treatment of migrant children at the US-Mexico border, on "Fox & Friends." 

"We're doing our level best in a challenging situation," McAleenan responds in the clip, to which Cummings says "What does that mean? Come on, man."

Screenshot/"Fox & Friends"

During a Saturday morning "Fox & Friends" segment that aired minutes before President Donald Trump quoted it in angry tweets, Rep. Elijah Cummings is shown questioning the DHS Secretary.

"But what about the abandoned homes, piles of trash, and higher murder rate in his own district of Baltimore?" a "Fox & Friends" anchor asked next on air. "Our next guest went there and said it's worse than conditions at the border."

After a commercial break, Saturday morning's "Fox & Friends" segment returned to the topic of Cummings and Baltimore, with an anchor saying "Democrats like Congressman Elijah Cummings say they care about how migrants are treated at the border. What about the families and people in their own district?"

Read more: Migrant detention centers in the US are under fire for their 'horrifying' conditions - and there's at least one in every state. This map shows which have the most.

The anchor continued to say "Congressman Cummings was elected to represent west Baltimore. Living conditions at the border are better than most areas in his district. The city is lined with abandoned buildings and trash on the streets."

Screenshot/"Fox & Friends"

Row homes and piles of trash were shown in Baltimore during a "Fox & Friends" segment that attacked Rep. Elijah Cummings, minutes before President Trump tweeted similar attacks.

"Fox & Friends" then brought on Republican political commentator Kimberly Klacik, a Maryland resident, who described Baltimore as "the most dangerous district in America," and said residents she talked to complained of "abandoned row homes filled with trash," along with cockroaches and rodents.

"Why doesn't he go into his district and take a look at the conditions?" Klacik asked on air. "I think obviously there is a crisis at the border but there's a crisis in his backyard and he should really pay attention."

Screenshot/"Fox & Friends"

Republican Strategist Kimberly Klacik spoke about conditions in Baltimore during a "Fox & Friends" Saturday morning segment that was quoted by President Trump in his tweets.

In the same tweet, posted within minutes after the segment aired, Trump also wrote "when actually his Baltimore district is FAR WORSE and more dangerous. His district is considered the Worst in the USA......"

Trump then replied to his own tweet with "....As proven last week during a Congressional tour, the Border is clean, efficient & well run, just very crowded. Cumming 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."

Members of congress who visited border detention facilities last week are calling for immediate changes to conditions, citing "serious concerns" affecting the people detained at the US-Mexico border.

Then, Trump tweeted "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. No human being would want to live there. Where is all this money going? How much is stolen? Investigate this corrupt mess immediately!"

As noted by Media Matters senior fellow Matthew Gertz on Twitter, this may not be the first time Trump was inspired by a simultaneous "Fox & Friends" segment while tweeting. He pointed out that the president's racist tweets about freshman congresswomen from two weeks ago also corresponded with on-air "Fox & Friends" discussion about the same issue.

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