Nancy Pelosi Calls Out ‘Slumlord’ Jared Kushner After President’s Attack On Elijah Cummings
Speaker Nancy Pelosi didn’t shy away from defending fellow House colleague Rep. Elijah Cummings after President Donald Trump accused the lawmaker of not doing enough for the Baltimore, Maryland district he represents.
Trump attacked Cummings with a tweet accusing him of corruption and not properly managing Baltimore, which he called “a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess.”
“Billions of dollars have been pumped in over the years, but to no avail. The money was stolen or wasted. Ask Elijah Cummings where it went. He should investigate himself with his Oversight Committee!” Trump also tweeted.
The tweet attack drew fierce criticism in the hours and days after, with many labeling Trump a “racist” for directing the tweet at the longstanding member of the Congressional Black Caucus.
On Thursday, Pelosi took a heavy jab at Trump and his son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner.
“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 on Capitol Hill, according to The Hill.
The Speaker then trained her guns on Kushner, who has an extensive real estate empire, including apartments in Baltimore for which he has been criticized in the past due to poor living conditions, according to The Inquisitr.
“The president without — and this comes as no surprise — really doesn’t know what he’s talking about. But maybe he could ask his son-in-law, who’s a slumlord,” Pelosi said.
JUST IN: Pelosi hits back at Trump's attacks on Cummings, calls Kushner a "slumlord" https://t.co/vBG6Engxoe pic.twitter.com/Uiz3LmUMmm
— The Hill (@thehill) August 1, 2019
A private investigator hired to dig deeper into the living conditions of Kushner’s apartments — a man who happened to be a Trump supporter — eventually determined that the claims were true.
“They’re nothing but slumlords,” he concluded.
The Baltimore Sun reported that tenants in Kushner’s apartments had a long list of complaints, including “poor maintenance, harsh rent collection techniques, and relentless pursuit of old and sometimes dubious debts generated after tenants moved out.”
There were also reports on Yelp that constructions crews left garbage in the hallways, leaks that went without repair, and rodent infestations. On top of that, there were mentions of predatory renting practices that caused a list of financial troubles for tenants.
A Newsweek piece pointed out that Kushner and his family faced no less than 170 code violations in Baltimore, with city officials threatening sanctions if proper repairs weren’t completed.
Though House Democrats passed a resolution condemning Trump last month for remarks against four minority lawmakers that they considered racist, it was unclear if they would take similar action on the heels of his latest attack on Cummings.
