There’s been a lot of talk over the last several days about President Trump’s criticisms of Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD-7) and the disturbing conditions in parts of his district. As usual, Trump’s political opposition (including the liberal media) have called him a racist who would never characterize a majority white area of the country as “infested” (which isn’t true).

Some of those same people also dispute what Trump has said about Baltimore, even though numerous investigative reports have been done in the past by the local media, concerned community activists, and PBS about the serious rat, trash, poverty, and crime problems that have plagued certain parts of the city for years.

But the people we haven’t heard much from are the people on the ground in the affected areas. The mainstream media don’t appear to be interested, but fortunately Baltimore Republican Kimberly Klacik has posted numerous videos and images of interviews she’s done with residents who live in Baltimore’s poorest neighborhoods, making sure their voices are heard.

The same goes for TPUSA’s Benny Johnson, who recently visited the district to conduct interviews with local residents. Here’s what he saw and heard:

I am in Baltimore. Rep. Elijah Cummings’ district. I spent all day speaking with dozens of people who live in Rep. Cummings’ district. Some have lived here +60 years.
I learned so much.
Before continuing, ask yourself: Do you want to know the truth?

Here it is…

*thread @tpusa* pic.twitter.com/dLrMXJlsWk

— Benny (@bennyjohnson) July 29, 2019

On being 'Rat Infested':

– *Every* person I spoke with *confirmed* that the district was rat infested
– This man told me that rats the “size of cats” run through his house regularly
– One woman told me rats have “taken over” her neighborhood
– One called it a "plague of rats" pic.twitter.com/Sccxl2qRjh

— Benny (@bennyjohnson) July 29, 2019

On trash in Rep. Cummings’ district:

– There is trash everywhere
– Filth & garbage piled up high in the street
– One building had a big sign that begged ‘DO NOT PUT TRASH HERE’ – below the signs were piles of rotting refuse
– Constituents blamed the trash for the rat infestation pic.twitter.com/UpIqJSCWsC

— Benny (@bennyjohnson) July 29, 2019

On the abandoned houses in Rep. Cummings’ district:

– Constituents tell me crime, rats, trash, drugs, killings & crumbling infrastructure has forced many out.
– One woman told me she wished the city would just “demolish” her block
– Parts of the district look like a ghost town pic.twitter.com/EqOlei0KEl

— Benny (@bennyjohnson) July 29, 2019

Parts of Rep. Cummings’ district look like a foreign war zone. Many homes are so decrepit, they are just crumbling to pieces. Every block I walked had a home with no roof. Some blocks have multiple homes that look like they had been through the battle of Leningrad. pic.twitter.com/rLTtpqfitV

— Benny (@bennyjohnson) July 29, 2019

I want to end with this:
Every person I spoke with in @RepCummings district was deeply kind to my crew & me.
Wonderful, beautiful people.
Here is what they all had in common: They feel abandoned by their politicians.
With a district like this – can you really blame them? pic.twitter.com/aLexSb8zQo

— Benny (@bennyjohnson) July 29, 2019

SOON: We will be publishing video of this day @TPUSA.
It will feature one thing & one thing only: The voice of people who live in Rep. Elijah Cummings' district.
That is all.
These are the voices we should be caring most about in this debate.
Because they tell the truth.
Ready? pic.twitter.com/CnKof6Oycp

— Benny (@bennyjohnson) July 29, 2019

Here is the thread unrolled.

In the summer of 2018, Fox 45 – Baltimore did a report that featured then-Mayor Catherine Pugh (D) touring the rows of dilapidated homes, and complaining of the smell of rats and dead animals. “What the hell? We should just take all this sh*t down,” Pugh can be heard saying in one part of the video:

Baltimore’s current Mayor Bernard “Jack” Young (D) did not dispute conditions on the ground in his city on Monday, instead saying that Trump should stop “childishly” tweeting about the issue and send federal assistance instead.

Rep. Cummings has represented Maryland’s 7th Congressional district since 1996.

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— Based in North Carolina, Sister Toldjah is a former liberal and a 15+ year veteran of blogging with an emphasis on media bias, social issues, and the culture wars. Read her Red State archives here. Connect with her on Twitter. –