Joe Biden Jumps to Defend Elijah Cummings After Trump Criticism

Former Vice President Joe Biden jumped to defend Rep. Elijah Cummings, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee after President Donald Trump criticized the congressman as a “brutal bully” on Saturday.

“Rep Cummings is one of the finest people I’ve ever served with,” Biden wrote on social media. “It is despicable for you to attack him and the people of Baltimore this way. Once again you have proved yourself unfit to hold the office. A President is supposed to lift this nation up. Not tear it down”:

The former vice president’s tweet came shortly after Trump, himself, had taken to social media to lambast Cummings for his treatment of Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan on Friday. Cummings had grilled the secretary for the way his department was looking after migrant children detained for crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.

“You feel like you’re doing a great job, right? Is that what you’re saying?” Cummings asked McAleenan during a committee hearing. When the secretary responded that his department was doing its “level best,” Cummings exploded.

“What does that mean?” the congressman shouted. “What does that mean when a child is sitting in their own feces, can’t take a shower? Come on, man. What’s that about? None of us would have our children in that position.”

The incident generated widespread attention on social media, especially from so-called “resistance groups” and others clamoring for open borders:

Trump responded to Cummings directly on Saturday, calling the congressman a “brutal bully” who spent time “shouting and screaming” about conditions at the border while his own district “is far worse”:

The president followed up his initial remarks by saying there should be an investigation into all of the federal money sent to Cummings’ district because it is a “corrupt mess.” Although it is unclear exactly what Trump meant, Cummings has come under fire in recent months over concerns that his wife’s nonprofit may have benefited from groups seeking to curry favor with the congressman:

Biden’s condemnation of Trump on Saturday is the latest in a recent string of dings the Democrat frontrunner has taken at the president. On Friday, Biden taunted Trump for his response to a Fox News poll showing the former vice president leading him in a potential 2020 matchup.