The trash cleanup Scott Pressler organized in West Baltimore on Monday wasn’t a political event, even if he was inspired by the back and forth between Trump and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) about the terrible conditions in some parts of the city,
Scott Presler’s Twitter account reveals that he spent two years of his life “working to defeat Hillary,” and he also plans to help re-elect President Donald Trump in 2020.
“[It is] not a Trump rally; this is not about Rep. Cummings; This is simply about Americans stepping up to help Americans,” Presler told Fox News.
Presler and some 170 volunteers descended on the city bearing trash bags and shovels. By the end of the eight-hour session, the group had collected 12 tons of trash.
“It’s always been like really trashy and like I showed the before picture what we were dealing with,” one woman in the neighborhood said in a video posted on Presler’s Twitter account. “I’m elated. I really am. I’m really happy. I want to cry but I’m not a cryer so I’ll just keep smiling.”
“You all are doing an awesome job,” the woman said. “Thank you so much.”
Before and after photographs show a clean alley once filled with mountains of trash.
Another video shows volunteers — whom Presler said came from all over the country and from around Maryland — picking up trash.
But the Baltimore Sun editorial board was offended by the effort and sent out a critical tweet about it.
“Whatever he says his motives were, Scott Presler’s presence in Baltimore reinforces the tired image that the poor people in this city can’t take care of their own neighborhoods,” the Sun tweeted.
“We assume it was pure motives that led a Trump supporter to launch a clean-up in Cummings’ district,” the Sun tweet said. “Conservatives cleaning up a Baltimore neighborhood makes for a good photo opp, but does little to address the real problems.”
“Call us skeptical,” the editorial in the newspaper said about Presler’s claim that the event was not political:
Look, we appreciate anyone who is willing to roll up their sleeves to help Baltimore. More than 170 people came from all over the country and cleaned up nearly 12 tons of trash, according to Mr. Presler’s Twitter feed. He doesn’t post any photos of the totality of the trash, so we’ll have to take his word for it.
But if this was all about “Americans helping Americans,” why all the videos of Baltimore residents thanking Mr. Trump for bringing attention to the issue? We happen to know that not everybody in West Baltimore feels that way. And in the same posts as the videos, why the frequent reminders that this is in act [sic] Mr. Cummings’ district?
But Presler isn’t deterred. He told Fox News that he is already working on a similar cleanup in New Jersey and Los Angeles.
“We want to take this nationwide and show people we care,” Presler said.
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