Trump, The Republicans And Baltimore

Rats by Nancy Ohanian

In 2016, Trump won the Republican primary in Maryland with 236,623 votes. On the same day, Hillary beat Bernie in that state, 63.0% to 33.2%... but Bernie's 281,275 second place finish was still enough to beat Trump. In Baltimore City. It was even funnier. Hillary beat Bernie by a lot-- 81,115 to 38,710, but in the GOP primary that Trump won, he only got a little more than a tenth of what Bernie got, 3,950 votes. and in the general election, Hillary crushed Trump statewide, 60.5% to 35.3% but really eviscerated him in Baltimore-- 85.4% to 10.9%. So, apparently, the feeling is mutual.

Remember when Trump promised he would help cities like Baltimore if he was elected? Maybe someone believed him... but no one I know. Yesterday, John Wagner, reporting for the Washington Post, wrote "Four years ago, in the aftermath of rioting in Baltimore, Donald Trump criticized then-President Obama for not doing enough to address problems in the city and claimed that 'I would fix it fast!' if he were president."

But what does Señor Trumpanzee even know about Baltimore? Anything at all? Well... maybe. It turns out that Kushner-in-law is a slumlord there, reviled for mismanagement. Ellen Cranley reported that Kushner "has continued ownership of several Baltimore-area housing complexes that have been so embroiled in housing violations and mismanagement that Kushner has been called a 'slumlord.'nA 2017 investigation by ProPublica and the New York Times called The Beleaguered Tenants of Kushnerville detailed how a subsidiary of the real-estate firm Kushner Companies functioned and the poor living conditions that plagued residents in complexes bought under Kushner's oversight. The investigation reported decrepit conditions including leaking ceilings, maggots in living-room carpet, and raw human sewage coming from a kitchen sink. The report also includes mention of multiple retaliatory lawsuits against tenants who tried to move out. Residents said in lawsuits they noticed near-constant but largely unexplained fees that would end up aiding their eviction if they weren't paid. The cases are ongoing, as Kushner Companies switched the suit to state court after a federal judge ordered the company to reveal the identity of mysterious company investors."

Whether Trump is aware of the complexes where it seems "no human being would want to live" or not, the housing troubles tied to Kushner haven't gone unnoticed by the city.

Baltimore County officials took notice of Kushner's powerful status while announcing in 2017 that he was to be fined for more than 200 code violations in apartments owned by Kushner Companies.

"We expect all landlords to comply with the code requirements that protect the health and safety of their tenants," county officials said in a statement at the time, "even if the landlord's father-in-law is president of the United States."

The Post Greg Sargent noted that whenever Trumpanzee "unleashes one of his racist attacks, the political world tends to go through a now-predictable cycle. We are first told Republicans think Trump’s latest racist display is brilliant politics, a view often pushed by Trump himself. Then gullible pundits echo that claim. And then persistent digging by reporters shows that Republicans are actually worried that his racism poses a serious problem for the party, unmasking the initial confidence as false bravado." Yesterday two other Post writers, Mike DeBonis and Paul Kane, reported that Republicans might not agree with Trumpanzee's assessment of Baltimore. "House Republicans have scheduled their yearly policy retreat for a downtown Baltimore hotel in September… That could present an uncomfortable situation for Trump, as sitting presidents customarily speak each year at their party’s House retreat." Who will play Winston in the Trump reenactment of Room 101 for the convention. I'm sure he would have loved to have gotten Justin Amash. House Republicans with the lowest Trump adhesion score so far this year are Will Hurd (R-TX), John Katko (R-NY), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Fred Upton (R-MI)...