When President Donald Trump called Baltimore a “rat and rodent infested mess,” he wasn’t far off the mark, according to a list of the “rattiest cities” in America.
On Saturday, Trump tweeted, “As proven last week during a Congressional tour, the Border is clean, efficient & well run, just very crowded. Cumming District is a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess. If he spent more time in Baltimore, maybe he could help clean up this very dangerous & filthy place”.
….As proven last week during a Congressional tour, the Border is clean, efficient & well run, just very crowded. Cumming District is a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess. If he spent more time in Baltimore, maybe he could help clean up this very dangerous & filthy place
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 27, 2019
The president made the remarks in a series of tweets in reaction to U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD-07) attacking acting Department of Homeland Security Sec. Kevin McAleenan during a hearing about the southern border July 18, Battleground State News reported.
After McAleenan said government officials are “doing our best” to handle the immigration crisis at the border, Cummings went off.
“What does that mean? 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. They are human beings,” Cummings shouted in response.
Orkin annually ranks metro regions by the number of new rodent treatments performed. This ranking includes both residential and commercial treatments.
Chicago leads the list for the fourth consecutive year, and a number of cities include those in Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota and Tennessee.
The most recent ranking, from Sept.15, 2017 – Sept. 15, 2018, is available here.
Notable city rankings include:
1 Chicago
6 Detroit (+1)
8 Cleveland, OH (+5)
9 Baltimore (-1)
11 Minneapolis-St. Paul (+1)
20 Cincinnati (+4)
25 Columbus, OH (+6)
33 Kansas City, MO (-6)
35 Nashville, TN (+5)
36 St. Louis, MO (-4)
39 Grand Rapids, MI (-5)
48 Dayton, OH (+7)
49 Memphis (-6)
50 Flint, MI (-1)
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Jason M. Reynolds has more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist at outlets of all sizes.
