I Have So Many Questions After Ivanka Trump Praised Baltimore On Instagram
Over the past few days, President Donald Trump has been the subject of serious criticism due to disparaging comments he's made towards Baltimore, Maryland. Politicians including Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland and Mayor Bernard Young of Baltimore have clapped back against President Trump's comments, but Ivanka Trump's Instagram story praising Baltimore might be the biggest plot twist of the week. I don't know about y'all, but I have so many questions.
This past week, President Trump has been in hot water after he posted a series of tweets criticizing Cummings and the city of Baltimore, Maryland. In the tweets, Trump called Cummings' district "rat-infested" and questioned the congressman's leadership. The Maryland representative has since defended his district and his loyalty to his constituents, but the debate hasn't necessarily settled down.
In the meantime, it looks like the first daughter has tried to create some diplomatic space to breathe. On Tuesday, July 30, White House senior adviser Ivanka Trump took to Instagram and Twitter to discuss a previous trip she took to Baltimore in 2017, where she visited the Center for Entrepreneurship at the Greater Baltimore Urban League. According to Trump's post, she donated proceed from her one of her books to a women's initiative in Baltimore in an effort to support women-run businesses starting out. The post read,
In spring 2017, after visiting the Center for Entrepreneurship at the Greater Baltimore Urban League, I donated proceeds from my book to fund a @NatUrbanLeague Women’s Initiative, incubated in Baltimore, to assist women in starting and growing successful businesses. I encourage everyone to advance smart policy and/or support organizations that uplift the great people of "Charm City."
Elite Daily reached out to the Trump Organization and White House for comment on which book Trump is referring to, and for further comment on the social media post, but did not hear back in time for publication.
Trump's comments may be well-intentioned, but they certainly come at a very interesting time. On Saturday, July 27, President Trump posted a series of tweets calling out both Cummings and Baltimore. In the tweets, he attacked Maryland's District 7 — which includes Baltimore, and is represented by Cummings — saying it is "considered the worst in the USA" and "no human being would want to live there." Many saw it as a racist criticism, considering the population of Baltimore is nearly 63% black, according to a July 2018 report from the U.S. Census Bureau. The White House did not previously respond to Elite Daily's request for comment on the tweets, or criticisms that they were racist.
Cummings, in turn, clapped back at Trump's attack on July 27 via Twitter, where he stated he wakes up every morning and "fights for his neighbors."
Cummings wasn't the only figure who responded to President Trump's comments. On July 27, The Baltimore Sun published an article analyzing the heated debate between Cummings and President Trump, and used some very pointed phrases. According to The Baltimore Sun, the editorial staff believes President Trump sees Cummings as a "thorn in his side" and the president thinks "attacking African American members of Congress [is] good politics," because it "warms the cockles of the white supremacists who love him." Well, that's quite an analysis. Elite Daily previously reached out to the White House for a response to The Baltimore Sun's article at the time, but did not hear back.
Other politicians including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have also defended Cummings against Trump's attacks. So, it looks like Trump doesn't have much of a support system from other politicians at the moment.
Given the tense situation, one has to wonder what the intention behind Ivanka Trump's Instagram post about Baltimore really was. A distraction technique? Conflict resolution? Either way, I suspect it'll take a bit more than that to make this controversy go away.
