DEMS/HUD/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “HUD Secretary Ben Carson returned to his longtime home of Baltimore on Wednesday [7-31-19] to try to defuse the uproar over President Donald Trump’s calling the city a ‘disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess’…He said he would like for Trump to visit the city, but suggested that the president feels he would be treated ‘so hostilely’ that he was reluctant to come…Carson said he has spoken with Trump ‘over the last couple of days about what can we do for Baltimore. He’s very willing to work with people here in Baltimore, including with Elijah Cummings,’ he said. Cummings was invited to the event Wednesday but couldn’t make it ‘due to scheduling commitments,’ a spokesperson for the lawmaker said. It was the second time this week that Carson appeared in public to vouch for the president, whose unsparing criticism of the city has spurred charges of racism. Carson defended Trump to Tucker Carlson on Fox News Monday [7-29-19]. He said Wednesday that he hopes the president will visit the city.”
–Katy O’Donnell, “Ben Carson defends Trump, compares Baltimore to cancer patient,” Politico, July 31, 2019 2:40 pm