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Top aide says Trump’s criticism of black lawmaker not racist

A top White House aide defends President Donald Trump's disparaging tweets about an influential black Democratic congressman and his Baltimore district as a justified response to the lawmaker's criticism of administration border policies.

FILE - In this Tuesday, April 2, 2109 file photo, House Oversight and Reform Committee Chair Elijah Cummings, D-Md., leads a meeting to call for subpoenas after a career official in the White House security office says dozens of people in President Donald Trump's administration were granted security clearances despite "disqualifying issues" in their backgrounds, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Trump on Saturday, July 27, denigrated Cummings' congressional district as a “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess,” broadening a campaign against prominent critics of his administration that has exacerbated racial tensions. Trump lashed out in tweets against the powerful House oversight committee chairman, claiming his Baltimore-area district is “considered the worst run and most dangerous anywhere in the United States.” (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
FILE - In this Tuesday, April 2, 2109 file photo, House Oversight and Reform Committee Chair Elijah Cummings, D-Md., leads a meeting to call for subpoenas after a career official in the White House security office says dozens of people in President Donald Trump's administration were granted security clearances despite "disqualifying issues" in their backgrounds, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Trump on Saturday, July 27, denigrated Cummings' congressional district as a “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess,” broadening a campaign against prominent critics of his administration that has exacerbated racial tensions. Trump lashed out in tweets against the powerful House oversight committee chairman, claiming his Baltimore-area district is “considered the worst run and most dangerous anywhere in the United States.” (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)Read moreJ. Scott Applewhite / AP
    by Associated Press, The Associated Press
    Published 

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top White House aide defends President Donald Trump's disparaging tweets about an influential black Democratic congressman and his Baltimore district as a justified response to the lawmaker's criticism of administration border policies.

Acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney says Trump was upset over what he perceives to be inaccurate statements by Rep. Elijah Cummings about conditions in which children are being held in detention at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Mulvaney tells "Fox News Sunday" that "when the president hears lies like that, he's going to fight back."

At a hearing last week, Cummings accused a top administration official of wrongly calling reports of filthy, overcrowded border facilities "unsubstantiated."

Mulvaney denies that Trump’s Twitter comments Saturday were racist and says Trump would criticize any lawmaker who spoke unfairly about his policies.

    Associated Press, The Associated Press