Republicans refuse to condemn Trump remarks about ‘rat-infested’ Baltimore

‘Most of the president's tweets are inappropriate and I'm not going to address every one of them’

Several Republican lawmakers have disputed Donald Trump's claim that African American congressman Elijah Cummings is a racist, but many still refuse to condemn his inflammatory comments about Baltimore.

The US president called the Baltimore-district Mr Cummings represents a “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess” where “no human would want to live” in a series of insulting tweets over the weekend.

In a later tweet he went on to call the Democratic congressman a “racist”.

During the course of his presidency, Republicans have been reluctant to criticise Mr Trump for his controversial comments on a range of issues with many claiming not to have seen his tweets.

But several Republican lawmakers disagreed with Mr Trump's claim that Mr Cummings is racist.

The most notable defence of Mr Cummings came from congressman Mark Meadows, who is one of Mr Trump's closest allies on Capitol Hill yet maintains a friendship with Mr Cummings. Mr Meadows is a member of the House Oversight Committee, which Mr Cummings chairs.

“I am friends with both men, president Trump and chairman Cummings,” he said. “I know both men well. Neither man is a racist. Period. Both love America. I think if we put aside partisanship with investigations we can find bipartisan solutions that will benefit not only Chairman Cummings' district but the country as a whole.”

He added: “I'm committed to working to that end with both of them.”

Some of the strongest rejections of Mr Trump's attack on Mr Cummings came from senators Lisa Murkowski and Shelley Moore Capito.

“No, I do not - absolutely do not.” Ms Murkowski said when asked if she agreed with Mr Trump that Mr Cummings was a racist.

“I do not agree that Elijah Cummings is a racist,” Ms Capito added. “I served with him for 14 years and I have a lot of respect for him.”

Other Republicans who rejected the US president's assertion also sought to defend Mr Trump against recent criticism that he has made racist comments when attacking minority lawmakers.

“It's my opinion that neither chairman Cummings nor president Trump is a racist,” congressman Thomas Massie said.

Senator Neely Kennedy said: “I don't think either congressman Cummings or president Trump are racist. I think they disagree, but you can disagree with someone's ideas but not disagree with their colour.”

Mr Trump's criticism of Mr Cummings came after the House Oversight Committee chairman was critical of Mr Trump's border officials during a hearing. It also came after his panel authorised subpoenas for personal emails and texts used for official business by top White House aides, including Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner.

“If racist Elijah Cummings would focus more of his energy on helping the good people of his district, and Baltimore itself, perhaps progress could be made in fixing the mess that he has helped to create over many years of incompetent leadership,” Mr Trump tweeted. “His radical 'oversight' is a joke!”

In response, Mr Cummings said that he goes home to his district every night and “each morning, I wake up, and I go and fight for my neighbours.”

He added: “It is my constitutional duty to conduct oversight of the Executive Branch,” he said. “But, it is my moral duty to fight for my constituents.”

A litany of Democratic lawmakers and candidates for the party's presidential nomination have defended Mr Cummings and condemned Mr Trump's tweets.

Maryland governor Larry Hogan, a Republican, said in a radio interview that Mr Trump's comments about Baltimore, the state's largest city, were “outrageous and inappropriate” although he stopped short of calling them racist.

In Congress, the criticism of the president from Republican members was more indirect and gentle.

“Most of the president's tweets are inappropriate. This is one of them, and I'm not going to address every one of them,” said Senator Richard Burr.

Senator Josh Hawley told a reporter that he didn't know the context for Mr Trump calling Mr Cummings a racist. But he stressed that when it came to the residents of Baltimore, “there's no reason to impugn them or the place they call home”.

Senator Kevin Cramer said he hadn't heard Trump's comment either and said “I don't know whether I agree with him or not.”

Mr Cramer added: “I do find it ironic that liberals, they want to be – they, on the one hand, proclaim that we're all equal which our Constitution says and our God says. But then they want to be victims at the same time.”

Several other Republican officials declined to engage in interviews.

“I don't even know what that means,” senator Tim Scott, the chamber's sole African American Republican lawmaker, said when asked whether he agrees with Mr Trump when he called Mr Cummings racist. “I have not responded to that because I don't know how to respond to it.”

Senator Mitt Romney called it the “latest act of political theatre.”

The Washington Post