House Speaker Nancy Pelosi bashed President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner on Thursday, calling him a “slumlord.” “The president — this comes as no surprise — really doesn’t know what he’s talking about, ” Pelosi told reporters. “But maybe you could ask his son-in-law, who’s a slumlord there, if he wants to talk about rodent infestations.”
The barb comes amid the back-and-forth over Trump’s critical comments about Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), who Trump said was ignoring his constituents in “infested” Baltimore, Maryland. Pelosi defended Cummings and blasted Trumps’ comments as “racist.”
“To see the president demean a great leader like Elijah Cummings shows his own insecurity and his own lack of understanding about what progress really is,” Pelosi told reporters in the Capitol.
Kushner owns thousands of apartments and other properties in and around the city through his real estate company. His company has been criticized by some for the same kind of squalor, including rodent infestations, that the president blasted in his Twitter fusillade. Kushner’s firm reportedly only responded to code violations under threat of fines from Baltimore County.
War of words escalates
Democrats say Trump’s remarks follow a pattern of “racist” comments, especially after he suggested that the “Squad,” including far-left Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib, “go back” and “fix” their home countries last month. In response, Pelosi led a vote to condemn Trump’s tweets, and even caused an uproar on the House floor when she called Trump a “racist” during debate, in violation of procedural rules.
Trump’s feud with Pelosi escalated after Trump attacked Cummings, who chairs the Oversight and Reform Committee, last month in a graphic tweet storm calling Cummings’ district “a disgusting and rat and rodent-infested mess” where “no human being” would want to live. Pelosi responded by calling Trump a racist — again — and rallying support for Cummings.
Trump’s criticism of Cummings came after the Democrat berated Trump’s acting DHS secretary over conditions in migrant facilities at the border. Cummings also plays a central role in the House’s ongoing subpoena battle with the White House, which Trump considers to be “presidential harassment.” He has issued subpoenas for texts and e-mails sent by Kushner and Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, who also works in the West Wing.
In an interview this week, Trump said that he doesn’t mind being called a “racist” because Democrats use the term willy-nilly to silence their critics. And Republicans have pointed to similar descriptions of Baltimore by Democrats — including Cummings himself — to argue that Democrats are just playing the “race card.” Video recently resurfaced of Cummings describing Baltimore as “drug infested” 20 years ago, while Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said the city was like a “third world country” in 2015.
Trump mocked Cummings on Friday after his Baltimore home was burglarized, tweeting, “Too bad!” Trump’s jibe prompted a rebuke from an unexpected quarter: his former UN ambassador Nikki Haley. “This is so unnecessary,” she replied, with rolling-eyes emoji.
Trump, Pelosi’s relationship deteriorating
President Trump has had a long-running friendly rivalry with Pelosi, who he often refers to simply as “Nancy.” But their relationship has publicly deteriorated over the last several months. Trump labeled Pelosi “crazy” after she accused him of a “cover up” and suggested he needed an “intervention” back in May — marking the first time Trump used one of his signature epithets to mock the Speaker, who he reportedly respects.
The war of words between the two has only gotten more personal amid the “go back” and Baltimore controversies. While doubling down his attacks on Cummings, Trump has targeted Pelosi over urban blight in her San Francisco district as well. The Democrat-run city, once considered the jewel of the West Coast, has devolved into a dystopian toilet with rampant homelessness and filthy streets.
”Speaking of failing badly, has anyone seen what is happening to Nancy Pelosi’s district in San Francisco. It is not even recognizeable [sic] lately. Something must be done before it is too late,” he wrote on Twitter Sunday.
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