Kweisi Mfume’s return to Capitol Hill after two-plus decades out of elected office is more than a second act. It’s like his fifth. Overcoming a troubled youth, Mfume was elected to the Baltimore City Council in 1978. Eight years later, he went to Congress, eventually giving up his seat to helm the NAACP. In 2013, he was named chair of the board at his alma mater, Morgan State University. We discussed the national political climate, and the work at hand.

With the presidential inauguration this month, it seems appropriate to ask how well you know President-Elect Joe Biden.
I know Joe well. I used to bump into him on the train [to D.C.] when I first got elected. A couple of years ago, at Morgan State University, he came and gave the spring commencement address. He’s just a good guy.

How has COVID-19 impacted working on the Hill for Congress?
Well, you can participate in one or two hearings at the same time. And oftentimes that will happen. But I don’t know if it adds to the quality of the process.

Donald Trump is leaving the White House, but most likely not the national scene. How do you understand his appeal to a significant percentage of voters?
Donald Trump is an individual, who aside from being narcissistic, has the ability to stoke the fears of people, and to do it over and over again by pushing certain buttons, and people rally around that. Unfortunately, it’s because they think that they have something to lose and that he’s going to protect them. He is a master salesman, which is how, in my opinion, he was able to beat that large field of Republican candidates four years ago and become the nominee of the party. He is, in many instances, all about Donald Trump. And it’s unfortunate, because in a leadership position such as the President of the United States, you have to at least attempt to work with the other side of the aisle.

What do you consider an achievement from when you held this seat previously?
I was proud of the Americans with Disabilities Act. I was an original co-sponsor, and I helped to get it passed on the floor. We tend not to think about it now because it’s been so many years. It’s just the way we live. But there was a real struggle getting that out of committee onto the floor and becoming law. I’m proud of the ban on assault weapons that was in place for 10 years. Unfortunately, Congress did not reauthorize or renew it.

What are your goals for the 117th Congress?
As we deal with this wicked virus and all that it’s done to us over the last 10 months or so…we’ve got to get a stimulus package, a second one through. Cities and states are hurting, and there has got to be relief for them in this package. There’s got to be a one-time stimulus check for families. There’s got to be unemployment insurance. People who are essential workers deserve essential pay. They’re not getting that. In many instances, their pay has been cut. So, we’re trying to find a way to get money into the hands of people, which in turn will get it into society and buoy the larger business community…That’s my number one priority. I don’t understand how Mitch McConnell has slowed the process on the other side of the Capitol in the Senate, but we’ve got to find a way to do that. We can’t fight back with one arm tied behind us.

Visit the Baltimore City and Baltimore County Board of Elections websites for more information. 

As the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and the death toll in Maryland climbed again Monday, Gov. Larry Hogan and former Baltimore City health commissioner Leana Wen discussed the potential reopening of the economy, which President Donald Trump has been pushing for, on CNN.

Despite concerns from White House public health experts and governors and elected officials from around the country, President Trump continued to press for the removal of work and business restrictions on Twitter and during his daily briefing yesterday.

“I have been having discussions with my team and top experts,” Trump said, reading from a prepared statement before an ultimately contentious late afternoon event with members of the media. “We’re very close to completing a plan to open the country . . . We will soon finalize new and very important guidelines to give governors the information they need to start safely opening their states. My administration’s plans and corresponding guidelines will give people the confidence they need to begin returning to normal life.”

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. surpassed 600,000 by Tuesday, including more than 25,000 deaths, the highest total of any country to date.

Earlier Monday, however, Gov. Hogan noted on CNN with Anderson Cooper that the decision to restrict commercial activity in Maryland, as well as more than 40 other states, was made by governors—not the president or federal government.

“[We’ve been] talking with our scientists and our doctors, some really smart folks, including Dr. Scott Gottlieb, who is the former FDA commissioner, [Dr.] Tom Inglesby from Johns Hopkins, along with some of our business leaders about how we would go about this in a safe way,” Hogan said. “I think it is something the governors are taking a lead on and will continue to do so.”

When Cooper replied that Trump was now making the case that the decision to reopen the economy was his—and not the governors’—Hogan pushed back against the president’s claim. “It’s not my understanding of the Constitution,” Hogan said.

In terms of the federal stimulus package, Hogan also noted none of the funding was directed to state governments to help alleviate local economic losses and growing budget deficits due to the collapse of state revenues.

“States are really in a position to be able to help get our economies back on line, and we’ve also suffered major revenue losses that we need to provide the basic services to all the people in our states,” Hogan said. “We made the tough decisions to shut things down and to put in place these tough social distancing practices, which are having an impact on the economy and we need that help from the federal government so we can help get the economy back on track when it is safe to do so.”

Hogan, who is chairman of the National Governors Association, told Vice President Mike Pence in a conference call Monday that governors across the country need $500 billion to save their budgets.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases topped 9,400 in the state by Tuesday. More than 300 deaths have also been reported in Maryland to date, with the African-American community disproportionately impacted. The latest modeling from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation predicts that Maryland’s daily number of cases and deaths will peak this week, level off, and then steadily decline into the first weeks of May.

Dr. Leana Wen, the former Baltimore City health commissioner and current visiting professor of public health at George Washington University, cautioned in a separate CNN interview that while the country may seeing a peak, in terms of daily cases and deaths from COVID-19, the outbreak of the virus is far from contained.

“The peak doesn’t mean that deaths have stopped,” Wen told CNN’s John King. “Actually, the peak that we may be hitting may be one in which there are thousands of ongoing deaths [in the country]. And, now there is also all this talk of opening our economy and removing restrictions.”

She added that the U.S. still needs a national coordinated effort to secure personal protection equipment for healthcare workers, ramp up testing, and build public health infrastructure before it’s safe to fully reopen the economy.

“But it seems we are doing this backwards because we shouldn’t be talking about a timeline as much as we should be talking about metrics and capabilities, including the number of tests that can be made widely available [and] the public health infrastructure needed to able to identity individuals who test positive and trace their contacts,” she said. “And the health care infrastructure overall to be able to treat people and not be rationing resources all the time. We are nowhere near having these capabilities in place.”

She also later took to Twitter to condemn the president’s defensiveness and continued attacks on the media Monday:

U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, chairman of the House Oversight Committee and a powerful advocate for civil rights and Baltimore, died early Thursday at 68. According to his office, the 12-term Maryland congressman passed away at Gilchrist Hospice Care, a Johns Hopkins affiliate, due to complications concerning longstanding health challenges. Cummings had not gone back to work this week as Congress returned to Capitol Hill.

Over the past year, since the Democrats retook the House of Representatives following the 2018 midterm elections, Cummings had served a key and high-profile role as the myriad of Congressional investigations into President Donald Trump and his administration have unfolded.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, also a Baltimore native, said of Cummings’ unexpected death that “the people of Baltimore, the U.S. Congress, and America have lost a voice of unsurpassed moral clarity and truth.” She described herself as “personally devastated.”

“In the House, Elijah was our North Star,” Pelosi said. “He was a leader of towering character and integrity, whose stirring voice and steadfast values pushed the Congress and country to rise always to a higher purpose.”

“He worked until his last breath because he believed our democracy was the highest and best expression of our collective humanity and that our nation’s diversity was our promise, not our problem,” said Maya Rockeymore Cummings, the congressman’s wife and chair of the Maryland Democratic Party, in a statement.

Cummings, whose district includes parts of Baltimore City, as well as Baltimore and Howard counties, had—along with the city itself—become a target for President Trump’s vitriol earlier this summer. Cummings addressed Trump directly, describing his work ethic and mission as an elected official.

“Mr. President, I go home to my district daily,” Cummings wrote. “Each morning, I wake up, and I go and fight for my neighbors. It is my constitutional duty to conduct oversight of the executive branch. But, it is my moral duty to fight for my constituents.”

In 2015, after the uprising and riot in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody, Cummings was in the streets day and night, playing a key role in diffusing tensions between protestors and police during the week of subsequent curfews.

“With the passing of U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, the city of Baltimore, our country, and people throughout the world have lost a powerful voice and one of the strongest and most gifted crusaders for social justice,” Baltimore Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young said in a statement Thursday morning. “Rep. Cummings, the son of sharecroppers whose ancestors were slaves, wasn’t afraid to use his considerable intellect, booming voice, and poetic oratory to speak out against brutal dictators bent on oppression, unscrupulous business executives who took advantage of unsuspecting customers, or even a U.S. President. He was, put simply, a man of God who never forgot his duty to fight for the rights and dignity of the marginalized and often forgotten.”

Cummings first rose to national prominence five years ago, after Rep. Darrell Issa, then the Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, cut off Cummings’ microphone during a key hearing. As Baltimoreans already knew and the country soon learned, Cummings remained a man who wore his heart on his sleeve.

“It’s not just my voice that was being shut down,” Cummings said at the time, maintaining his composure while passionately trying to make his case. “Remember what I said: ‘I represent, we represent, over 700,000 people.’ What about our voice? ‘Shut it down [Issa said].’ That’s not the Democratic way.”

Raised with six brothers and sisters in South Baltimore’s historically black Sharp-Leadenhall neighborhood, Cummings attended a segregated elementary school and was among the first children to integrate the Riverside Park swimming pool in the summer of 1962. The son of former South Carolina sharecroppers, Cummings was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1982—still on the heels of the civil rights movement and several years before Kurt Schmoke was became the first elected black mayor of Baltimore.

“Of the many things I learned from my father—and neither he nor my mother completed elementary school because they went to work in the fields—was to treat everyone with equal respect and not to speak or act out of anger,” Cummings told us in a 2014 Baltimore profile. “Because when you do, the person only hears your tone, they don’t get the message.

“And,” Cummings added, tapping a finger to the table for emphasis, “you’ll lose sight of the bigger picture. You’ll get so caught up in who you are fighting, you’ll forget what you are fighting for—and it’s the ‘what’ that is important.”

University of Maryland Carey School of Law professor Larry Gibson, Schmoke’s former campaign manager, noted in the same story that Cummings’ rise in congressional stature followed in the footsteps of a number of local African-American leaders who made significant contributions to the city, state, and country. “… look at who held that congressional seat before him—Parren Mitchell and Kweisi Mfume. All became powerhouses in Congress.”

Governor Larry Hogan described Cummings as “a fierce advocate for civil rights and for Maryland for more than three decades.”

“Congressman Cummings leaves behind an incredible legacy of fighting for Baltimore City and working to improve people’s lives,” Hogan said in a statement. “He was a passionate and dedicated public servant whose countless contributions made our state and our country better.”

Cummings was born on January 18, 1951 and was a distinguished student at City College High School, where he graduated in 1969. At Howard University, he majored in political science, served as class president, and became a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society.

He graduated from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1976 and practiced law before succeeding Lena Lee in the state House of Delegates. He often said her encouragement and support was crucial in launching his political career. In the General Assembly, where he served for 14 years, Cummings became the first African American in Maryland history to be named Speaker Pro Tem.

Among other efforts, up until the time of his death, Cummings also served on the U.S. Naval Academy Board of Visitors, the Morgan State University Board of Regents, the University of Maryland School of Law Board of Advisors, and the SEED School of Maryland Board of Directors.

To fill the Cummings’ seat, by law, Hogan will soon call a special primary election and a special general election will be held to fill the vacancy, according to reporting from The Baltimore Sun. Hogan’s spokesman, Mike Ricci, said Thursday morning that it wasn’t clear yet when the special election would take place.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan says he supports the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump in the wake of a whistleblower’s report of alleged widespread abuse of power by the president and his administration.

President Trump and others in his circle and administration—including the president’s personal attorney, Rudolf Giuliani, and U.S. Attorney General William Barr—have been implicated in an alleged scheme to pressure the Ukrainian government into investigating Trump’s potential Democratic rival in the 2020 election, former Vice President Joe Biden, and his son Hunter Biden, in exchange for the release of U.S. military aid.

“I think we do need an inquiry because we have to get to the bottom of it,” Hogan told PBS’ Firing Line host Margaret Hoover in a segment that will air Friday night at 8:30 p.m. “I’m not ready to say I support impeachment and the removal of the president, but I do think we should have an impeachment inquiry.”

At the same time, Hogan expressed some apprehension that the impeachment inquiry led by the Democratic-led House of Representatives would be “a fair, objective one.” But he added, “I don’t see any other way to get the facts.”

Hogan joined two other other Republican governors in blue states, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott and Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, in their backing of impeachment inquiry proceedings.

Hogan, who did not support Trump for president in 2016—he says he wrote in his since-deceased father, former Maryland U.S. Rep. Lawrence Hogan Sr., on the ballot—added he would not support Trump again in 2020. However, he added, he could not possibly support a Democratic nominee either.

“We’re 14 months from the election, I’m not sure who the nominee is going to be, who the president is going to be,” Hogan added with a nervous laugh as Hoover pressed him. “We’re just going to have to wait and see.”

When Speaker of the House and Baltimore native Nancy Pelosi announced the start of the impeachment inquiry on September 24, Maryland’s congressional contingent, which had been withholding calls for the start of a formal impeachment investigation, unanimously came out in favor of the inquiry.

To date, all but a handful of the 235 Democratic members of the House of Representatives have expressed support for the impeachment inquiry. But not a single member of 197-member GOP caucus has publicly backed the inquiry. Former GOP-turned-independent congressman Justin Amash has pledged his support for the inquiry.

If the House impeaches Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said the GOP-controlled Senate will hold a trial. In order for Trump to be removed from office, at least 20 of the 53 Republican senators would have to vote in favor of impeachment.

On Friday on Capitol Hill, former Ukrainian Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch testified before the House Intelligence Committee after receiving a subpoena. The White House had attempted to block her appearance and in her opening remarks, Yovanovitch said her sudden departure in May was the result of pressure from Trump and others “with clearly questionable motives” on the State Department to remove her.

Governor Hogan, profiled by Baltimore a year ago, is familiar with the process of impeachment proceedings and has often noted that his father was the first Republican member of the Judiciary Committee to call for the impeachment of former President Richard Nixon in 1974.

Hogan considered a primary challenge to Trump earlier this year and travelled to the early primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire. He eventually decided against running in June, citing his commitment to governing the state on the heels of winning reelection and his new role as chairman of the National Governors Association.

That said, as Hogan, 63, himself highlighted in a Washington Post story this summer: “At some point, there’s no longer going to be a Donald Trump Party.” Whether Trump survives the latest controversy surrounding him and his administration, Hogan most likely has his eyes on a 2024 bid for the GOP nomination and will be keeping his options open should an opportunity arise sooner.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Tuesday afternoon that the House of Representatives will begin a formal impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump. Pelosi’s action—long awaited by many Democratic activists after findings in the Mueller Report—comes in response to startling new allegations that the president recently sought to enlist Ukraine in his personal electoral cause. Namely, undermining current frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020—former Vice President Joe Biden.

Pelosi, the daughter of former Baltimore mayor Thomas D’Alessandro Jr., announced the start of an impeachment inquiry on Capitol Hill following a closed-door meeting with her Democratic caucus.

“The actions taken to date by the president have seriously violated the Constitution,” she said. President Trump, she said, “must be held accountable—no one is above the law.”

Impeachment has occurred twice in U.S. history, with charges brought against Presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. Neither president was removed or left office. Rather than face a House of Representatives vote on impeachment over the Watergate scandal, President Richard Nixon resigned in 1974.

Even if the House—where the Democrats hold a majority—votes to impeach Trump after their inquiry, forcing a president from the White House requires a conviction in the Senate. In that chamber, where Republicans hold a majority, elected GOP officials have remained in lockstep behind Trump during each controversy of his presidency.

Trump’s alleged efforts to pressure Ukraine into investigating Biden, his potential rival, and his son, Hunter Biden, who served on board of the country’s largest private gas company, were brought forth by a U.S. intelligence whistleblower. Earlier Tuesday, Trump acknowledged he withheld $391 million in military support for Ukraine in the run-up to his July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The president and his personal lawyer, former New York Mayor and former GOP presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, have suggested Biden tried to protect the Ukrainian company, and thereby his son, from a corruption investigation. Neither Trump, Giuliani, nor anyone else to date, has provided evidence of illegal activity by either Biden.

Fact checking and investigations by multiple U.S. news outlets have repudiated Trump’s and Giuliani’s allegations that the former vice president attempted to protect his son by advocating for the removal of the former top Ukrainian prosecutor. The current prosecutor general of Ukraine, Yuri Luiseno, has looked into the matter and cleared the Bidens.

Leading up to Tuesday’s announcement by Pelosi, Maryland’s congressional delegation, who had been hesitant to speak out in favor of an impeachment inquiry previously, offered their strong backing for formal hearings.

“We can now see with our own eyes that the President is jeopardizing our national security,” Rep. Elijah Cummings said in a statement, referring to Trump allegedly holding back military aid to an ally in exchange for damning information on an American political candidate. “He admitted to personally withholding military security that Congress appropriated to help Ukraine counter Russian aggression. He admitted to personally urging a foreign actor to dig up dirt on his political rival. And he personally attacked a whistleblower whose protected information is being withheld from Congress in violation of the law.”

In a move described as unprecedented, the Trump Administration’s acting director of national intelligence, Joseph Maguire, has refused to share the whistleblower complaint with congressional intelligence committees, even after receiving a subpoena.

Trump tweeted on Tuesday that he would release the transcript of his phone call with the Ukrainian president, referring to the conversation as “totally appropriate.” The release of the whistleblower complaint, which is required to be turned over to Congress, remains another story, however. Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson determined that whistleblower’s allegations involving the president and his contact with Ukraine—of which the July 25 phone call with the Ukrainian president is just a part, according to reporting from The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and The Washington Post—were deemed credible and of “urgent concern.”

The Mueller Report, of course, found multiple contacts between Trump campaign officials and Russian representatives during the 2016 election season.

Fellow Maryland Democratic Rep. C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger emphasized his national security concerns regarding the president’s contacts with Ukraine: “As a former prosecutor, I have resisted calls to begin formal impeachment proceedings against the President until we had clear, indisputable evidence that transcends politics,” Ruppersberger said in a statement. “Jeopardizing our national security is where I draw the line. Withholding duly appropriated money meant to aid a country that could be overtaken by Russia is reckless and dangerous. This is yet another example of the President doing Putin’s bidding.”

“President Trump’s actions are a threat to our democracy,” Maryland Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen said in a press release. “His continued disregard for our Constitution and the democratic norms that guide our nation have caused irreparable harm to our country, our standing in the world, and to the Office of the Presidency. As the White House continues to prevent the House of Representatives from exercising their Constitutionally-mandated oversight role, it has become clear that the tools provided by an impeachment inquiry must be employed.”

Maryland Democratic Congressman John Sarbanes said Trump’s alleged conduct, “constitute[s] a direct attack on our democracy and signify an unprecedented new level of corruption and lawlessness in the White House.”

“President Trump’s attempt to pressure a foreign government to interfere in the 2020 election is a blatant abuse of power,” Sarbanes said.

By coincidence, former Vice President Joe Biden was scheduled for a private fundraising event at Citron, a Pikesville restaurant and event space, Tuesday evening, according to reporting by The Baltimore Sun. However, Biden and his team were forced to head back to home to Wilmington, Delaware, after realizing the former vice president would not make it in time because of traffic caused by an overturned a tractor-trailer on I-95.

Less than seven weeks ago, President Donald Trump tweeted to his millions of followers and constituents that U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings’ district—which includes much of Baltimore and its surrounding counties—is “a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess” as well as a “very dangerous & filthy place.” This evening, the 45th president walked straight into the proverbial rat’s nest, as hundreds of people gathered around Harbor East ahead of his arrival to the House Republican Conference at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel. Here’s what some of the demonstrators had to say about the visit.

Claude Taylor, Silver Spring

I started a political action committee, and principally what we do is anti-GOP and anti-Trump billboards. And we also do the rat. We’ve had this rat for over a year, and deployed it in several states. It’s been at the White House and Trump Hotel—we took it to Mar-a-Lago. Sometimes it’s a rat truck, sometimes it’s a rat boat, but it’s always Trump rat. It’s ironic because we created it almost a year before [Trump’s statements about Baltimore.] But, that’s Trump. The rat is the perfect message.

Val Astin and Marilyn Carlisle, Baltimore City

Astin: We’re here basically to let Trump know that we don’t agree with his policies, and we don’t agree with what he has said about our city. You look at this crowd, and there’s a mixture of every color and race and age. We have to be out here to show the fact that we’re united. As a city and as people.

Carlisle: We have to show them that it’s not okay. Not in our name. He doesn’t listen, so I don’t think he cares [about the protests.] I’m doing this for me and my grandchildren. I have to stand for what I believe even if it’s not going to make any difference today. And I will be registering voters and going to other states to do so.

Joe Murphy, Baltimore County

I’m here to see the President of the United States come to Baltimore City. I’ve been here my whole life, and now my president’s finally coming. He opened up opportunity zones which is why he’s here today, so he can actually rebuild the worst parts of our city and make them nice again. His four tweets [about Baltimore] have cleaned our city up tremendously.

Chris Tallent, Ednor Gardens

Campaign Director of MAYDAY America

This is Cleanup Carl. He’s a superhero for democracy who is on a national tour to call out all of the country’s biggest corruptors, and there’s no bigger corruptors than Trump and GOP members of Congress. I think it’s so offensive that Trump thinks that he can tell people about Baltimore when he doesn’t know anything about this city. Baltimore has its fair share of problems, just like any city does. Baltimore is a beautiful, diverse city with so many wonderful neighborhoods and so many beautiful people and Trump doesn’t know anything about that. There’s no place for racism from Trump and the GOP in Baltimore City or anywhere else.

Lydia Walther-Rodriguez, Baltimore City

Baltimore Regional Director of CASA in Action in Maryland

Many of our members recognize Baltimore City as their home. Many of them have been living here, on average, for about 15 years and they are tired of the inhumane treatment from this administration and the continued bullying. So we’re out here today with a big sign that says, “Abolish ICE” to remind the administration that this is the time to ensure that our voices are heard. I think it’s important that the president continues to see that immigrant community members are united with so many hundreds of allies behind us. We’re letting him know that this is our city, and his continued threats and attacks of panic will not defeat us here in Baltimore.

Liuda Galinaitis, Westminster

I’ve been doing almost weekly protests against the Trump administration since he became president. One of my bucket list items was to come and protest when Donald Trump is in the area. I did the Women’s March, too, in Washington, D.C., which was fabulous. It was one of the top experiences of my life. I know he was in the White House then, but today is a little more personal. I want to show my solidarity and show that Baltimore is strong and we’ll always stand up to Trump’s policies, no matter what he says about us.

Grace and Isabel McLain, Baltimore City

Grace: I think there’s a lot of frustration and anger with the way that things in the country are going, and it’s cathartic to go out and be with people who are also angry and frustrated and shout about it. This [poster] has made its way around a few different rallies in Baltimore. I think that in our country a lot of people like to disguise their racism as patriotism, and then when you call it out, they try to pretend that you’re ridiculous and gaslight you into thinking that it’s about loving our country and not about hating other people.

Isabel: The real question is, what parts of this country do they love and what type of America do they consider great?

On the heels of a Washington Post report on House Republicans’ plans for a policy conference at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront in September—an event the president traditionally attends and addresses—and an invitation from Rep. Elijah Cummings, there is rising speculation surrounding whether President Trump will visit Baltimore in the coming months.

By this point, the president’s attacks against Baltimore City and Rep. Elijah Cummings have been well documented. The latest development came this weekend, when Cummings declared at the opening of the McCullough Street Nature Play Space in West Baltimore that the president was welcome to visit. “Do not just criticize us,” he said. “But come to Baltimore and I promise you, you will be welcomed.” Whether Trump will heed Cummings’ invitation remains to be seen.

“One of the reasons why people are critical of the president for doing what he’s doing is when the President of the United States speaks negatively of a city, it has a huge effect,” says Greg Kline, co-founder of Red Maryland, a conservative media network. “It sends a message far and wide. I think he’s very likely to go [to Baltimore], if nothing else to avoid someone like Congressman Cummings saying he’s afraid to go there.”

Despite Washington, D.C. being a short commute away, the president has never made an appearance in Baltimore since being elected. (Last December, plans for him to visit Rev. Donté Hickman of Southern Baptist Church in East Baltimore were scrapped at the last minute.) He did, however, visit during his campaign, holding a rally that was attended by both protesters and supporters at the Baltimore Convention Center.

After the events of the past week, there were those who felt compelled to share their love for the city by posting photos of their favorite spots on social media. And as Towson University history professor Richard Vatz puts it, there is a stark divide between Republicans who defended the president, and Democrats who find his tweets offensive. This chasm is a marker for how a potential visit might play out.

Goucher associate professor of political science Mileah Kromer notes that the optics of such a visit could hinge on just how the administration anticipates the reception in Baltimore. “If the administration believe they’re going to be met with overwhelming protests, there’s certainly a chance he would cancel,” she says.

There is a hope, perhaps, that if the president does visit Baltimore, whether it be in September or earlier to meet with Cummings, he might be exposed to all the positive things that the city has to offer.

Richmond Davis, who ran against Cummings in the 2018 midterm election as the Republican nominee for Congress, says he hopes that a potential speech by Trump in Baltimore could look past the vitriol and instead highlight the plight of urban areas. It could be an opportunity, he believes, to address—perhaps more tactfully–the problems that the city faces.

“I would hope he would realize that there’s more than just the trash-strewn areas that were featured on Fox News,” he says. “That is the responsibility and obligation of the president—to expose himself to as many points of view and observe as much of this country as he can.”

For the fourth straight day, Donald Trump continued his assault on the city of Baltimore, describing it “like living in hell” while addressing reporters on the south lawn of the White House Tuesday morning. Further, the president claimed, without offering evidence, “that billions and billions given to Baltimore” in federal funding “had been stolen.”

Trump also continued his personal attacks on Rep. Elijah Cummings, who represents Maryland’s 7th District, suggesting Cummings is “in charge” of Baltimore, which the president had called “a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess” over the weekend.

“They’re largely African American,” Trump said of Baltimore’s residents. “You have a large African-American population, and they really appreciate what I’m doing and they’ve let me know it.” Again, the president offered no information about who specifically from Baltimore had reached out to him. He tweeted that the city’s economic and crime numbers are “the worst in the United States,” neither of which is true.

In Tuesday evening’s Democratic presidential debate, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, whose husband teaches at the University of Baltimore School of Law, decried Trump’s assault on majority-black Baltimore. “Little kids literally woke up this week and turned on the TV and saw the president call their city, the town of Baltimore, nothing more than a home for rats,” Klobuchar said.

To a question about how the candidates would change course and help heal from Trump’s tactic of racial division, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders highlighted his Thurgood Marshall Plan for Public Education, which aims at ending the growth of segregated schools, increasing support for Title I schools, and raising teacher pay, among other initiatives. Marshall, a Baltimore native, founded the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund and won the Brown v. Board of Education case that overturned legal segregation in 1954.

On Saturday morning, a “Fox & Friends” segment that was critical of Baltimore prompted the president’s initial verbal assaults on the city and Cummings. Trump apparently viewed the segment as an opening to go after Cummings, who serves as chair of the House Oversight and Reform Committee. Previously, Cummings had offered tough questioning of Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan during a hearing on child separations and conditions at U.S. border facilities.

On Sunday, Trump referred to Cummings, the son of sharecroppers who grew up defending himself against bullies who tried to stop the integration of a South Baltimore public pool, as “racist Elijah Cummings.” On Monday, after Rev. Al Sharpton and former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, a Republican, visited Cummings’ West Baltimore church, Trump called Sharpton a racist, too. Meanwhile, Steele said Trump “has a particular venom for blacks and people of color.”

During his remarks to reporters Tuesday morning, Trump referred to himself as “the least racist person there is anywhere in the world.”

Whether American voters believe him is another question. Later Tuesday, Quinnipiac University released a poll that found 51 percent of American voters think the president of the Unites States is a racist. Forty-five percent of voters said they do not think Trump is a racist.

Wednesday morning, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, the renowned former Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon, came to Baltimore to defend the president and tout the Trump Administration’s “Opportunity Zone” initiative. According to reporting by The Sun, HUD officials planned to stage their press conference on a vacant lot in Southwest Baltimore, but never asked permission from the owners of the property, Morning Star Baptist Church of Christ.

Meanwhile, Baltimoreans have continued their defense of their beloved city, which launched a trending social media hashtag #WeAreBaltimore over the weekend.

Visit Baltimore, the city’s official tourism arm, noted, for example, that the city ranked fifth on the both Forbes’ list of rising cities for startups and Entrepreneur magazine’s list of top cities for minority entrepreneurs, as well as one of the top three U.S. cities for recent college grads by the Wall Street Journal.

In an op-ed to the Baltimore Sun, Under Armour founder Kevin Plank and Johns Hopkins University president Ron Daniel—joined by more than a half-dozen other business, academic, and nonprofit leaders—wrote how they were “proud and privileged” to call Baltimore home. They described Baltimore as “home of creativity, optimism, and determination.”

Others, including Baltimore photographer Devin Allen, continued to show their love for the city in heartfelt tweets, Facebook and Instagram posts and pictures.

By coincidence, Baltimore celebrated its 290th birthday Tuesday.

Trump, of course, most likely didn’t know that. A couple of years ago, he described one of Baltimore’s and the country’s greatest former citizens, former slave turned abolitionist, orator, and author Frederick Douglass, as “an example of somebody’s who’s done an amazing job and is being recognized more and more.”

In an unprecedented verbal assault on the citizens of an American city by a modern U.S. president, Donald Trump called Baltimore “a disgusting, rat and rodent-infested mess,” and the “Worst in the USA,” adding “no human being would want to live there.”

Lashing out in a tweetstorm, first on Saturday—then doubling down Sunday—Trump added the nation’s 29th largest city, Rep. Elijah Cummings, and Maryland’s 7th Congressional District to his growing list of black and brown targets. By Sunday afternoon, Trump was referring to Rep. Cummings, one of the most respected members of Congress and the son of sharecroppers who grew up defending himself against racist bullies who tried to stop the integration of the Riverside Park swimming pool, as “racist Elijah Cummings.”

Baltimoreans, in turn, fired back all over social media, standing up for their beloved city against the president’s vitriol and racist-tinged attacks by posting photos of Charm City—from Artscape, Fort McHenry, and the Inner Harbor to stoop parties, crab feasts, Patterson Park, and the Gwynn Falls. They also highlighted figures like Divine and Gervonta Davis, who, by coincidence, successfully retained his world super featherweight title Saturday night before a packed house at the Royal Farms Arena.

By Saturday evening #WeAreBaltimore was trending across Twitter.

Perhaps no one responded more poignantly than Victor Blackwell, weekend host of CNN Saturday and a Baltimore native, who quickly, and correctly, put the president in his place.

“You know who did [live in Baltimore], Mr. President? I did,” Blackwell said, struggling at times to hold his emotions in check. “From the day I was brought home from the hospital to the day I left for college, and a lot of people I care about still do. There are challenges no doubt, but people are proud of their community. I don’t want to sound self-righteous, but people get up and go to work there. They care for their families there. They love their children who pledge allegiance to the flag just like people who live in districts of congressmen who support you, sir. They are Americans, too.”

In particular, Blackwell highlighted Trump’s use of the word “infested” in reference to majority-black Baltimore—a term of art the president often deploys when talking about people of color—whether in regard to Mexican and Central American migrants and asylum seekers, the Ebola-crisis in Africa, or certain female members of Congress.

“’Infested—that’s usually reserved for references to rodents and insects, but we’ve seen the president invoke infestation to criticize lawmakers before,” Blackwell said to viewers. “You see a pattern here? Just two weeks ago President Trump attacked four minority congresswomen. ‘Why don’t they go back to the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.’ Reminder, three of them were born here; all of them are American. Infested, he says.”

Blackwell noted that Trump had also previously described longtime civil rights activist—and congressman—John Lewis’ Atlanta district as “crime infested.”

John Waters, never one to shrink from a fight—or cover up the city’s challenges—responded to Trump by saying: “Give me the rats and roaches of Baltimore any day over the lies and racism of your Washington, Mr. Trump. Come on over to that neighborhood and see if you have the nerve to say it in person!”

David Simon, not one to pull punches, either, reacted in similar style: “There’s a block party today on my southside street. This is a city of good Americans who deserve more than a grifting, hollow and self-absorbed failure of a man as their president. @realDonaldTrump is a permanent stain on our land.”

Trump’s twitter fire at Baltimore residents apparently was prompted by a “Fox & Friends” segment Saturday morning that was critical of Baltimore. That segment came on the heels of Cummings’ tough questioning of Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan during a hearing on conditions and child separations at U.S. border facilities.

Saturday afternoon, Baltimore leaders and elected officials gathered at City Hall to formally condemn Trump and his remarks.

“It’s completely unacceptable for the political leader of our country to denigrate a vibrant American City like Baltimore, and to viciously attack U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings, a patriot and a hero,” Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young said in a prepared statement. “Mr. Trump’s rhetoric is hurtful and dangerous to the people he’s sworn to represent. As the Mayor of Baltimore, I won’t stand for anyone, not even the alleged Leader of the Free World, attacking our great City or our representative to Congress. Mr. Trump, you are a disappointment to the people of Baltimore, our country, and to the world.”

Brian Stelter, host of CNN’s Reliable Sources and a Maryland native and Towson University alum, pointed to the factual errors in the president’s tweets on his Sunday show. He described them as “petty” and “a distraction” from other important issues as well as “racist and ridiculous stereotyping of a part of the country [which] is damaging to the country as a whole and that must be covered that way.”

Lest anyone mistake Trump’s rhetoric for actual political dialogue, this is what Red Maryland, the state’s conservative blog, had to say:

“First off, typical of his tweets, President Trump shot his mouth off before his brain was loaded. The problems with his tweet are extensive, but it boils down to two big problems.

• The 7th Congressional District includes only half of Baltimore City. Large chunks of the district are in Baltimore County and Howard County. Some of Maryland’s most affluent areas i.e. Columbia, Clarksville, and parts of horse country are part of the district; and,
• There is a racial component of the implication is too obvious to miss.”

Trump, on Sunday, continued his attacks on Baltimore and Cummings, who chairs the powerful House Oversight Committee, tweeting “. . . Congressman Elijah Cummings has done a very poor job for his district and the City of Baltimore. Just take a look, the facts speak far louder than words!”

For good measure, Trump subsequently went after the Baltimore-born Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, and her district, also describing it as“failing badly.” Later, Trump said he was, “Waiting for Nancy and Elijah to say, ‘Thank you, Mr. President!’ for the declining unemployment numbers among African-Americans nationally, a trend, of course, that had been established, along with overall unemployment decline, under the Obama Administration.

Cummings addressed Trump on Twitter directly, describing his work ethic and mission as an elected official, which one can only assume will be completely lost on the president.

“Mr. President, I go home to my district daily,” Cummings wrote. “Each morning, I wake up, and I go and fight for my neighbors. It is my constitutional duty to conduct oversight of the Executive Branch. But, it is my moral duty to fight for my constituents.”

One aspect of President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax overhaul law was a provision designed to create “opportunity zones” in low-income areas around the country. By offering tax breaks to developers for investing in targeted, low-income areas—vetted by each state’s governor—the purpose was to spur economic and commercial activity and revitalization efforts in under-invested neighborhoods.

However, according to a just-released report from ProPublica, an independent, journalism nonprofit focused on government accountability, that new tax law will likely benefit Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank, Goldman Sachs, and other Port Covington investors with what could be millions in tax breaks for their ongoing South Baltimore project.

As the selection process for opportunity zone sites was underway, Gov. Larry Hogan’s deputy chief of staff, Sean Powell, noted in an email last year that Port Covington did not qualify for one of the potential 147 low-income tracts in Maryland. That was largely because of the higher household incomes in Federal Hill and Locust Point that are included in the census tract. ProPublica reports that Hogan, also a real estate developer, of course, nonetheless selected Port Covington after his aides met with Plank’s lobbyists.

“This is a classic example of a windfall benefit,” Robert Stoker, a George Washington University professor who has studied Baltimore’s economic development, told ProPublica reporters Jeff Ernsthausen and Justin Elliott. “A major investment was already planned and now is in a zone where they are going to qualify for all kinds of beneficial tax treatment.”

Port Covington, a former railroad terminal and brown field, is Plank’s ambitious effort to build an essentially new waterfront city within Baltimore’s city boundaries. The project is being overseen by Sagamore Development, a privately held company founded by Plank and real estate developer Marc Weller in 2013. Port Covington is already one of the largest development projects in the U.S.—as well as the recipient of $660 million in tax-incremental financing breaks from Baltimore City, and all told, another $1.3 billion in public infrastructure spending. The entire buildout is projected to cost $7.3 billion and take 25 years to finish.

“Port Covington being part of an Opportunity Zone will attract more investors, foster more economic growth in a neglected area of the City, and directly benefit all of the surrounding communities for decades to come,” Weller said in a statement to ProPublica.

“For parts of Port Covington and the six adjacent South Baltimore communities, the Opportunity Zone program provides an incredible opportunity to drive capital, bring outside investment and create jobs in areas that have been left behind for decades,” Weller added in a statement emailed to Baltimore magazine.

Geared toward attracting newer and younger people to Baltimore—the Sagamore Spirit distillery and Rye Street Tavern are already in place—the futuristic vision for Port Covington calls for mixed-use development that will feature high-rise offices, an upscale hotel, apartments for millennials, restaurants, walkable shopping, and Water Taxi travel.

As ProPublica reports, Port Covington is not in an impoverished census tract and nor is it a new investment. Also, according to its investigation, “the census tract only became eligible to be an opportunity zone thanks to a mapping error.”

City Councilman Ryan Dorsey decried the selection of Port Covington (over other areas in Baltimore) for additional tax breaks Wednesday on Twitter following ProPublica’s report, questioning Weller’s statement that Port Covington is a “neglected area” and Hogan’s statement that the project will go “a long way to providing benefits for the whole city.”

Baltimore fair housing lawyer Barbara Samuels asked via a tweet: “Is there a gov’t subsidy that this (misad)venture hasn’t vacuumed up?”

Pro or con, the full story on opportunity zone tax breaks and Port Covington is worth a read.

“The Port Covington tract is just 4 percent black,” the ProPublica pieces highlights in the piece. “For it to be included in the program, another community somewhere in Maryland had to be excluded. The ones that the city suggested that were excluded by the governor, for example, are 68 percent black and have a poverty rate three times higher than Port Covington’s.”

After a 22-month investigation into President Donald Trump’s possible collusion with Russia, special counsel Robert Mueller’s 448-page report garnered riveting attention across the country Thursday after a redacted version was made public.

The key findings span a range of conclusions, and frustratingly to some, no conclusion in one key matter—the allegations of obstruction of justice.

The report found there were numerous contacts between Trump campaign advisers and Russians affiliated with the foreign government during the run-up to the 2018 election and afterward. But the special counsel did not establish that there was sufficient evidence to indict the president, or any Trump campaign official, with conspiring with Russian intelligence operatives to influence the election.

However, the Mueller investigation did find repeated examples in which the president directed officials around him to halt or derail the inquiry, including attempting to get Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to oust Mueller. Trump’s efforts failed because those officials did not comply with the president’s wishes and demands, according to the report.

“The President’s efforts to influence the investigation were mostly unsuccessful, but that is largely because the persons who surrounded the President declined to carry out orders or accede to his requests,” the special counsel determined.

Rosenstein, who was nominated by Trump to his position, served as U.S. attorney for the district of Maryland from 2005 to April 2017. Following Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ recusal from the investigation, Rosenstein appointed Mueller, a former director of the FBI, to head the inquiry.

Ron Weich, dean of the University of Baltimore School of Law, said that even without further indictments of president’s campaign team, the release of the report was important and necessary for the American people “to see the full conduct the president and his team.”

“The narrative of the report reveals the campaign willingly accepted and encouraged assistance from a foreign adversary, including [former Trump campaign manager] Paul Manafort, who shared campaign polling information to help Russia influence the election,” Weich said.

Among others, Manafort, former deputy campaign chairman Rick Gates, and Trump foreign policy advisor George Papadopoulos have all already pled or been found guilty of crimes charged by Mueller’s team, though those convictions were not directly related to their campaign work.

Mueller’s team also declined to prosecute the president’s son, Donald Jr., the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and other campaign members for their participation in the infamous June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower with a Kremlin-connected lawyer, who had promised political “dirt” on Hillary Clinton. In part, investigators said, because they couldn’t prove that they “willfully” violated the law.

In terms of Mueller’s decision not to indict the president on obstruction of justice charges, Weich, who served as an assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice during the Obama administration, noted that according to DOJ guidelines, a sitting president couldn’t be indicted. The decision to remove a president is essentially left up to Congress, which has the power to impeach.

That said, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, who represents Maryland’s 5th District, told CNN that he does not expect impeachment proceedings to move forward.

“Based on what we have seen to date, going forward on impeachment is not worthwhile at this point,” Hoyer told CNN. “Very frankly, there is an election in 18 months and the American people will make a judgment.”

“I think Bob Mueller is a cautious man, a cautious prosecutor,” said Weich, who knows Mueller, the director of the FBI during his time at the DOJ, as well Rosenstein, whom he met after taking over as dean of the law school at the University of Baltimore in 2012. “Both Bob Mueller and Rod Rosenstein have sterling reputations.” Rosenstein will be the commence speaker at University of Baltimore School of Law’s graduation ceremony in May.

Overall, reactions to the report’s conclusions fell largely along well established partisan divides.

U.S. Rep. C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger, who represents Maryland’s 2nd District, pointed to “at least 10 instances” in the report in which President Trump attempted to interfere with the Mueller investigation. He encouraged all Americans to read the report, in particular, the sections on obstruction of justice “so they can determine for themselves if the behavior described in this report is becoming of a United States President.”

In a statement, Maryland U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, the chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, said Congress must subpoena the full Mueller report and all underlying documents. “This report catalogues in excruciating detail a proliferation of lies by the President to the American people, as well as his incessant and repeated efforts to encourage others to lie,” Cummings wrote.

Cummings also criticized current Attorney General William Barr’s favorable summary of the report earlier this month and again during a Thursday morning press conference. “Contrary to AG Barr’s attempts at misdirection, it is crystal clear from the report that DOJ’s policy against indicting a sitting President played a key role in Special Counsel Mueller’s analysis—in fact, it is the very first point in the obstruction section of his report.”

In the report’s conclusion in the obstruction section, the Mueller team said, “while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”

U.S. Rep. Andy Harris, from Maryland’s 1st District, called the investigation “two years of wasted time, energy, and $25 million” in a tweet Thursday. “It’s time we move on from partisan politics to issues Americans truly care about, like securing our border, addressing the opioid crisis, and continuing to grow our economy.”

In terms of how the Mueller report plays out politically, Richard Vatz, Towson University professor of rhetoric and communication, called the investigation document “a perfect Rorschach test.”

“Republicans will take a look and say, ‘See what did I tell you?’ and smile,” Vatz said. “Democrats will take a look and say, “See what did I tell you?’ and smile.

“The president has never had a majority of the country’s support, but [the report’s release] will harden his base,” Vatz continued. “And the 30 percent that despise him will despise him even more. The question will become: If the economy keeps growing and there are no major foreign entanglements, will he get movement from those in the middle when the election comes around?”

Larry Hogan has serious doubts that Donald J. Trump can win a second term. And, Hogan also told CBS News in an appearance Wednesday morning, he’s been hearing from Republican politicos that he should challenge the sitting president with a 2020 primary bid.

“I am being approached by a lot of different people and I guess the best way of putting it is I haven’t been throwing them out of my office,” the 62-year-old Republican Maryland governor said.

“The issue I’m concerned about is he has a very low re-elect number, I think in the 30s, high 30s, low 40s,” Hogan said. “So the chance of him losing a general election are pretty good. I’m not saying he couldn’t win, but he’s pretty weak in the general election. At some point,” Hogan continued, “if he weakens further, Republicans would say we’re concerned about whether or not he’s going to win if we’re going to face a very far-left Democratic nominee, and is he going to take the rest of us down with him if you’re an elected official.”

Hogan, of course, won reelection in blue Maryland—a state with one of the largest minority populations in the country—this past November by more than 13 points.

In 2016, Hogan was one of the highest profile Republican officeholders not to endorse Trump. He did not vote for Hillary Clinton either, he says, but wrote in the name of his father—former Maryland U.S. representative and Prince George’s County Executive Lawrence Hogan Sr. In terms of supporting Trump in 2020, “I don’t see how my position would’ve changed much from before,” Hogan said.

Hogan also offered what he called “friendly advice,” suggesting Trump lower his rhetoric and think through his decisions before making policy and implementing presidential powers.

“I’ve been pretty clear, I don’t like the tone that the president uses,” Hogan said. “I think there are times where he acts irrationally, and makes decisions and . . . does things in a way that aren’t great for the Republican Party, or for the country, or for him and his agenda, for that matter. I mean, I think sometimes he can be his own worst enemy.”

He added he was “not in any position to judge the fitness of the president.”

If Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report comes back with compelling evidence regarding Trump collusion with Russian interference in the 2016 election or other wrongdoing, Hogan believes the Republican primary might become crowded fast.

“I think you would see a number of potential challengers in the Republican Party consider jumping in.”

Last week, former Republican Massachusetts Governor William Weld announced he was forming an exploratory committee around a potential 2020 bid. In our October profile of Hogan, Rick Wilson, a longtime Republican strategist and author of Everything Trump Touches Dies, described Hogan as “an interesting guy to watch.”

“He may not be on the radar of the average voter outside Maryland,” Wilson said, “but political nerds know him.”

As part of Hogan’s new role as head of the National Governors Association next month, he will visit Iowa—long the nation’s key, first primary state.

“I would say the election is still two years away and we don’t know who the nominees will be in either party,” Hogan said.

In terms of recent policy disagreements with the president, Hogan believes using the declaration of emergency powers to declare an emergency at the border was the wrong thing to do: “You know, I think the president made some real mistakes here. We’ve exaggerated what’s going on at the border.”

He also said many in the GOP, including those in Congress, “have not stood up when they think the president is doing something wrong.”

“I have not been afraid to do that,” Hogan said, then pointing—perhaps not coincidentally—to his father’s actions during Watergate as his model.

In the interview, Hogan noted his late father, a former U.S. representative and FBI agent, was the first Republican in Congress to publicly support the impeachment of President Richard Nixon. “No man, not even the president of the United States, is above the law,” Hogan’s father implored during a 1974 hearing.

In a Goucher Poll released Tuesday, Hogan’s popularity among Marylanders remained high with 69 percent indicating they approve of the job he is doing as governor. On the other hand, only a third of Marylanders think that Hogan should run for president in 2020 while 55 percent do not think he should launch a campaign. (Maryland obviously is a politically safe state to take on Trump. In the same poll, 66 percent of Marylanders disapproved of the job the president is doing.)

Meanwhile, President Trump has yet to respond to Hogan’s interview. He’s been more consumed so far today on Twitter with former FBI acting director Andrew McCabe and his new book, The Threat, the “fake news” Washington Post, the “enemy of the people” New York Times, and California’s “already failed” efforts to build a high-speed train.

Earlier, Trump did tweet, however, that he wished “Crazy Bernie” well after Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders announced he was running again for the Democratic nomination.

Gov. Larry Hogan made clear the message he wanted to send at his second inaugural address when he announced earlier this week that former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush would introduce him at Wednesday’s ceremony in Annapolis.

Maryland’s Republican governor invoked Bush’s father, former President George H.W. Bush, as well as former Sen. John McCain and his own father, former U.S. Rep. Larry Hogan Sr., the first Republican to come out for the impeachment of President Richard Nixon, in making the case for moderate leadership and bipartisanship in his address. Hogan did not mention President Donald Trump by name, or the current federal government shutdown, in his 1,700-plus word speech. But highlighting those former establishment-wing members of GOP leaders was widely viewed as a rebuke of the embattled president and de facto head of today’s Republican Party.

“Party loyalty,” Hogan said, quoting his father during the Watergate scandal with words that have a certain resonance at the moment, “and personal affection and precedents of the past must fall before the arbiter of men’s actions: the law itself. No man, not even the President of the United States, is above the law.”

Hogan pledged civility and a “humble, tolerant, respectful, and effective government that has worked together and found bipartisan, commonsense solutions.”

Jeb Bush, of course, was initially the frontrunner to win the 2016 GOP presidential nomination before Trump’s surprising takeover of the party’s base. Hogan praised his model of leadership in purple Florida and his family’s commitment to public service in his address.

“Let’s repudiate the debilitating politics practiced elsewhere—including just down the road in Washington—where insults substitute for debate, recriminations for negotiation, and gridlock for compromise; where the heat, finger-pointing, and rancor suffocates the light, and the only result is divisiveness and dysfunction,” Hogan said.

Hogan also made the pitch that Maryland has “already shown a better path forward” under his first term in the Governor’s Mansion. He apparently has made a believer out of Jeb Bush, a frequent Trump critic. “What’s happening here in Annapolis is the antithesis of what’s happening in Washington, D.C., these days,” Bush told the crowd of several hundred people in Annapolis.

In November, Hogan became just the second Republican governor ever re-elected in Maryland and first to be re-elected in 65 years. In such an overwhelming Democratic state, his moderate style and bipartisan approach has no doubt been due, at least in part, from necessity.

At the same time, Hogan has worked with the Democratic-led General Assembly on a number of issues, including banning fracking, protecting the state’s Affordable Care Act provisions, and directing casino taxes to boost education funding. Last month, Hogan opened an event in Washington, D.C.—“Starting Over: The Center-Right After Trump”—because of his success governing as a moderate in the state.

After his double-digit reelection win over Democratic nominee Ben Jealous this fall, Hogan’s name has been bandied about as potential national Republican leader and even future presidential candidate—should the GOP turn away from Trump and Trumpism. “[Hogan] lays a path that we might want to pay attention to,” Jerry Taylor, president of the nonpartisan Niskanen Center think tank, told The Washington Post.

In his post-election remarks, Hogan blamed Trump for the Republican’s overall poor results, and said he wants to be part of the national conversation about moving the party forward. At his post-inauguration gala, Hogan literally entered the event in carrying a purple surfboard, which he says he road over Maryland’s blue wave.

President Donald Trump was scheduled to make the short trip up the Baltimore-Washington Parkway on Wednesday at the invitation of Rev. Donté Hickman of Southern Baptist Church in East Baltimore. But, according to a spokesman from Rep. Elijah Cummings office, the meeting that was scheduled to take place at the church will now happen at the White House—whose officials say the cancellation was due to a scheduling conflict.

“The president will still meet with a number of stakeholders, including several from Baltimore,” reads a statement issued by the White House on Monday morning. “And provide remarks on the opportunity zone and urban revitalization initiative, highlighting the administration’s agenda to expand the economic boom to all Americans, especially those in distressed communities—both rural and urban.”

Trump was supposed to be meeting with Hickman, as well as other clergy members and elected officials, in Baltimore to discuss federal funding to revitalize the suffering communities in the city. Hickman, who has been working to redevelop East Baltimore for the past decade, says that his master plan entered its third phase earlier this year. The plan includes the rebuild of the $16 million Mary Harvin Transformation Center with senior housing and workforce training, which was a target of arson in the Baltimore Uprising in 2015.

“It is time that we realize that we cannot continue to normalize violence, poverty and murder,” Hickman said in a Facebook post Sunday afternoon. “We cannot wait for the administration we like or elect to take bold faith steps together towards investment opportunities. If we fail, we will fail trying and God will bless our faithfulness. Whatever vitriol we have for this presidential administration should be manifested in our determination to do what we can to restore our broken city.”

Hickman’s hope for the visit was to encourage Trump to initiate the opportunity zone investment—a Republican-backed tax initiative that will place investment capital into struggling communities by offering a substantial tax break—in East Baltimore neighborhoods. The U.S. Treasury estimates that this opportunity zone program will inject $100 billion in private capital in areas where the poverty rate averages 32 percent.

Critics believe the costs will outweigh the benefits and force poor people from their neighborhoods. But Hickman has stated publicly that this initiative is a way to jumpstart the development of affordable housing, grocery stores, and improve public safety and education in the area. To date, 42 zones in Baltimore City including Port Covington, Poppleton, Perkins Homes, and Park Heights are already scheduled to receive assistance for redevelopment through the opportunity zone initiative.

“Focus on what really matters for our city going forward,” Hickman said in a Facebook post. “Faith-based institutions can lead the effort and partner with other institutions to obtain the public and private dollars necessary to revitalize our city through restoring people and rebuilding properties. I know it’s difficult for many, but don’t get distracted. It’s our communities and we have the power to maintain and sustain them.”

A town hall featuring 100 black men in Baltimore, some prominent and familiar—others less often heard, but no less compelling and thoughtful—discuss everything from President Donald Trump and Colin Kaepernick to fatherhood, police reform, and the challenges facing black boys in the first episode of new series Take on America, airing tonight from OZY Media.

“Black Men in Baltimore,” hosted by award-winning journalist and OZY Media co-founder Carlos Watson and including Jemele Hill, formerly of ESPN and now of The Atlantic, is the first of four televised town halls that “take on America” through the lens of race.

Upcoming episodes include “White Women in Nashville” (airing October 25), “Latino Families in New York City” (airing November 1), and “Asian-American Millennials in San Francisco” (airing November 8). The series—which debuts tonight at 8 p.m. on YouTube, OZY.com, and a variety of PBS stations around the country—aims to generate dialogue that can help Americans understand each other better, and foster “greater insight and understanding at a critical time.”

Among the panelists in the Baltimore episode, filmed earlier this month at the War Memorial building, are Maryland Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ben Jealous, Republican U.S. Senate candidate and Towson University professor Tony Campbell, Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson, The Wire actor Lawrence Gillard Jr., journalist and author D. Watkins and T.J. Smith, who recently resigned from the Baltimore Police Department after expressing his frustration with the struggling department.

It also features a good number of men most Baltimoreans likely don’t know—local business leaders, nonprofit directors, scholars, organizers, artists, and barbers among them—who care no less deeply about their state of their city and country.

The debut episode features candid, and at times emotional, conversations around the ongoing challenges facing black men in the U.S. today as well as revealing personal stories. Smith, for example, admits that even as a police officer he’s been the target of racial profiling and wrongfully stopped while driving and shopping.

The most moving segments of the episode, not surprisingly, come when the men talk about the obstacles their own fathers and mothers encountered in raising them and the twin trauma of poverty and violence all too common today in many Baltimore neighborhoods.

Politics and pressing issues, such as the continued War on Drugs, mandatory minimum sentencing, and voter suppression efforts—all of which disproportionately affect minority communities—are never far from the discussion, however. Nor are wide-ranging opinions on the best way forward.

With racial tensions running high in the era of President Trump and the run up to the mid-term elections, the aim of the town hall, and the series, according to OZY Media, “is to see how, in today’s incredibly tense political climate, we’re actually more alike than different in our strive for progress, and for outsiders to get an inside look at the conversations these minority groups are really having.”

“I feel passionately that we are at pivotal moment in our nation’s history,” said Watson, the series host in a statement. “We are living in one of the most racially charged eras since the Civil Rights movement, and the world is both more connected technologically, and disconnected interpersonally, than it’s ever-been before. We hope that we will create a forum for substantive dialogue and ultimately inform and inspire action.”

With 10 days before the start of early voting and one month before Election Day, Democratic challenger Ben Jealous is still finding it difficult to make inroads against incumbent Republican Governor Larry Hogan, according to a new Gonzales Poll released Wednesday.

Across the state, 54 percent of likely voters indicate they plan to vote for Hogan, while 36 percent say they will vote for Ben Jealous—an 18-point margin that is only slightly narrower than the 20-point lead Hogan had in a Washington Post-University of Maryland poll released earlier this week.

“Free State voters are on the doorstep of reelecting a GOP governor for the first time since many liked Ike, and we all loved Lucy,” pollster Patrick Gonzales said in a statement accompanying the release of the poll. In the worst of times—the very worst political environment imaginable—a Democrat in Maryland begins the race with 40 percent. Mr. Jealous has not yet reached that minimum threshold a little more than a week before early voting commences.”

Two percent of likely voters say they’ll vote for either Libertarian candidate Shawn Quinn or Green Party candidate Ian Schlakman, and eight percent are undecided.

Meanwhile, support for Donald Trump ticked up five points in Maryland since August—as the controversial Brett Kavanaugh nomination was in the news—with 41 percent of state voters now indicating they approve of the job the president is doing. Statewide, 55 percent disapprove (with 48 percent “strongly” disapproving) of the job that Trump is doing.

Hogan captured a third of the registered Democrats in the state in the Gonzales Poll, running up enormous margins in the Baltimore suburbs (64 percent to 25 percent), the eastern, western, and southern parts of the state. Jealous leads in Baltimore City, but by just 10 percent (50-40) and the Washington metro area by 17 percent (53-36.) Jealous leads in Prince George’s County where Hogan’s father once served as county executive, 64 percent to 23 percent, but is only tied with Hogan in traditionally liberal Montgomery County.

The Gonzales Poll, with a plus or minor margin of error of 3.5 percent, was conducted during the first week of October.

Overall, Hogan remains very popular with 67 percent of voters holding either a “very favorable” (44 percent) or “somewhat favorable” (23 percent) opinion of the governor. By party, 86 percent of Republicans and 59 percent of Democrats hold a favorable opinion of Hogan. Sixty-two percent believe Maryland is moving in the “right direction” and 20 percent believe it is on the “wrong track.”

A mid-September Goucher Poll had Hogan ahead by 22 points, albeit many voters indicating they supported policies backed by Jealous, suggesting the challenger could possibly gain traction. That has not transpired.

In terms of race, the majority of both white Marylanders (68 percent) and black Marylanders (53 percent) approve of the job Hogan is doing.

However, there is a big distinction between white Marylanders’ and black Marylanders’ perceptions of Jealous, who is vying to become the first African-American governor in the state. While black voters in the state overwhelmingly have a favorable opinion of Jealous (65 percent to 7 percent), white voters do not (28 to 44).

Earlier this week, Jealous said the Hogan campaign was using a political ad that mocked his stutter.

The unusual support for a Republican governor in traditionally blue Maryland where Democrats hold a 2-1-voter registration advantage also appears to be helping make the race for Attorney General closer than expected. In that campaign, Democratic incumbent Brian Frosh holds a nine-point lead, 43 percent to 34 percent, over Republican challenger Craig Wolf, with 23 percent undecided.

If the election were today, 54 percent of likely Maryland voters would cast their ballot for incumbent Republican Larry Hogan in the race for governor, according to the latest Goucher College poll. Thirty-two percent say they would vote for Democratic candidate Ben Jealous.

Green Party candidate Ian Schlakman and Libertarian candidate Shawn Quinn each received one percent of the support of likely voters.

Nine percent of voters remain undecided. Another quarter of likely voters indicated they could change their mind, leaving some hope for Jealous, who trails Hogan significantly in fundraising efforts and only began airing his first television commercial after the poll concluded. Interestingly, by a margin of 47 percent to 36 percent, likely voters say they value a governor who is more focused on bringing about change than ensuring stability.

Statewide, likely Republicans voters favor Hogan by 91 percent to 1 percent margin. Currently, registered Maryland Democratic voters only break for Jealous by 10 points—48 percent to 38 percent.

“The cross [tabulations] tell the story,” St. Mary’s College political science professor Todd Eberly commented on Twitter. “The lesser known GOP candidates running against Cardin, Frosh, and Franchot are getting crushed. But Hogan is receiving strong support from core Democratic voters.”

In the first half of the Goucher College survey released yesterday, a significant majority of Marylanders backed policies—typically viewed as progressive Democratic initiatives and supported by Jealous—while also strongly supporting Hogan. Seventy-one percent of Marylanders now back raising the statewide minimum wage to $15 an hour—up from 66 percent in February 2018—with 25 percent in opposition. By a margin of 54 percent to 33 percent, Marylanders hold a favorable opinion of a Medicare for All/single payer healthcare system. And 62 percent of Marylanders support the legalization of marijuana for recreational use.

The single, one-hour televised debate between the two candidates is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday and will be broadcasted on Maryland Public Television.

“Ben Jealous has faced a months-long barrage of negative ads and has a substantial disadvantage in campaign fundraising—and it’s prevented him from defining his candidacy to the public and making gains on his opponent,” said Mileah Kromer, director of the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center at Goucher College. “Hogan’s electoral strength continues to be grounded in political moderation and the confidence the public has in him to handle economic issues. We have less than two months to see whether Hogan can maintain his bipartisan voting coalition or if Jealous can turnout enough progressives to make up the difference.”

The Jealous campaign appeared to suffer an unforced error earlier this week when they vetoed a Hagerstown Herald-Mail reporter from the upcoming MPT debate panel and then rescinded the move after an up road from other local media outlets.

The economy/jobs (25 percent), education (13 percent), racial/social justice (13 percent), President Donald J. Trump/national political concerns (13 percent), and healthcare (11 percent) were highlighted by likely voters as the most important issues in making a vote for governor.

Overall, 66 percent of likely voters expressed more confidence in Hogan in terms of economic development and job creation, 51 percent had more confidence in Hogan in handling education concerns, and 51 percent had more confidence in Hogan in regards to healthcare issues.

Sixty percent of likely voters said their opinions toward embattled President Trump, the GOP’s national standard-bearer, “will have no or little effect on their choice for governor.”

A Hogan endorsement, the poll found, holds less sway perhaps than his strong survey numbers suggest. Just 38 percent of likely voters said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate endorsed by the governor. Meanwhile, Democratic incumbents Sen. Ben Cardin and Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh both maintain significant leads on their challengers.

Fifty-six percent of likely voters in the state indicate they will vote for Cardin and 17 percent for Republican challenger Tony Campbell. Independent Neal Simon captured eight percent support.

Fifty-eight percent of likely voters in the state indicate they will vote for Frosh and 26 percent for Republican challenger Craig Wolf.

“Ben Cardin and Brian Frosh are both in a strong position to easily win their reelection bids in November,” said Kromer. “They both earn strong support from their Democratic base, as well as a solid percent of independent voters.”

Maryland residents overwhelmingly support a $15 minimum wage, the legalization of recreational marijuana, and a Medicare for All/single-payer healthcare system.

Interestingly, while backing those policies—typically viewed as progressive Democratic initiatives—Marylanders also strongly support Republican Gov. Larry Hogan.

According to the latest Goucher College survey conducted last week, 71 percent of Marylanders now back raising the statewide minimum wage to $15 an hour—up from 66 percent in February 2018—with 25 percent in opposition. By a margin of 54 percent to 33 percent, Marylanders hold a favorable opinion of a Medicare for All/single payer healthcare system. And 62 percent of Marylanders support the legalization of marijuana for recreational use.

Marylanders also continued to express strong support for incumbent Gov. Larry Hogan (64 percent approval) and the general direction that the state is headed (55 percent).

“The underlying issue [in terms of support for Hogan] is taxes,” said Mileah Kromer, director of the Sarah T. Hughes Field Politics Center at Goucher College. “Marylanders are, by and large, focused on economic issues and Governor Hogan has had a consistent message—that he has not raised taxes over the past four years.”

A majority of Marylanders (56 percent) consider the amount of state taxes they pay “too high.” Nearly half (48 percent) believe the current tax system advantages the wealthy, with 13 percent believing the current system is fair to everyone.

All of these issues that Marylanders are in support of are policies that have been put forth by Hogan’s Democratic challenger in the race for governor, Ben Jealous. Kromer cautions, however, support for a single-payer healthcare system is not quite as strong as support for improving the Affordable Care Act in Maryland.

“Support for a state-based Medicare for All plan distinguished Ben Jealous as a candidate for governor from the rest of field during the Democratic primary,” said Kromer. “However, opinions toward adopting a single-payer healthcare system are nuanced. Marylanders do view Medicare for All favorably, but a majority still prefers that elected officials focus on improving the way the Affordable Care Act is working for Maryland.”

Overall, the percentage of Maryland residents disapproving of President Donald Trump is among the highest in the country. With a margin of error +/-3.4 percent, 71 percent of the adults in the state disapprove of the president, who is battling controversies from the Russian investigation, his immigration and trade policies, and his nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

Just 23 percent of Maryland residents approve of the job the president is doing.

Forty-five percent of Marylanders believe Hogan has distanced himself “about the right amount” from President Trump. Twenty-four percent of respondents indicated they believe Hogan has distanced himself too little from President Trump.

Almost half of Marylanders view the governor as a moderate (48 percent), 27 percent see him as a conservative, 10 percent think of him as a progressive, and 14 percent say they don’t know.

Tomorrow, Goucher will post other survey results, including poll numbers on the Hogan and Jealous race. In the latest Gonzales poll, Hogan led Jealous by 16 points in the state. The two candidates are scheduled to meet in a single televised debate September 24.

About the Goucher Poll:
The survey was conducted Tuesday, September 11, to Sunday, September 16, 2018. During this time, 813 interviews with Maryland adults were conducted noon to 9 p.m. on Monday to Friday and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Interviews are conducted by a staff of professionally trained, paid, student interviewers. Interviews were not conducted with adults who were reached at business or work numbers. Eighty-three percent of the interviews were conducted on a cell phone and 17 percent were conducted on a landline.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions came to Baltimore Tuesday promising to speed up the deportation of immigrants and implement broad Trump administration polices aimed at curbing overall immigration into the United States.

Sessions also said the Department of Justice was refocusing on its partnership with Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies to crack down on MS-13, an El Salvador-based gang. 

From Trump’s inauguration in late January to early September, nearly 54,000 immigrants had been deported from the interior U.S., a 34 percent jump over the same period last year, according to reporting by The Washington Post. 

“Under President Trump, our immigration judges completed 20,000 more cases this last fiscal year than the previous one,” Sessions said. “We have hired 50 immigration judges since January, and we plan to hire another 60 over the next six months.”

Sessions added that he supports the president’s proposals to end chain migration—the opportunity for U.S. citizens to sponsor close members for permanent resident status—and prioritize the applications of immigrants who speak English or are highly skilled.

Later, when asked by a local reporter if the FBI planned to pick up the investigation into the death of Baltimore police detective Sean Suiter—as requested by city police chief Kevin Davis—Sessions said the move was likely. Suiter was shot in November while investigating a triple homicide from 2016. He was scheduled to testify before a grand jury the following day in an ongoing federal investigation of the Baltimore Police Department’s gun task force.

What wasn’t made clear was why Sessions, who was accompanied by recently confirmed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, chose Baltimore for the backdrop of his immigration remarks.

The attorney general recounted two grisly murders, which were attributed to MS-13, but that did not take place in the city or surrounding counties. The El Salvadoran-based gang is not prominent in the city, according to Baltimore police officials. Earlier in his remarks, Sessions highlighted Baltimore’s violent crime and murder rates—among the highest in the country—before pivoting to MS-13, which he called “one of the most dangerous gangs in America.”

“The people of this community have seen it firsthand,” Sessions said of MS-13 violence, conflating Baltimore’s crime problems with Central American immigration.

When asked how targeting MS-13 would impact Baltimore’s homicide rate, Sessions said, “I don’t know that the city itself has a high MS-13 murder rate. But this region—Northern Virginia, Islip, New York, Houston, Los Angeles—are the centerpieces of the most MS-13 violence.”

Sessions also appeared to deem Baltimore a “sanctuary” city, a description not legally defined, but which could have adverse consequences for Baltimore, in terms of crime fighting resources and grant opportunities under the Trump administration.

“City officials have declared it so,” Sessions said in a response to a Baltimore magazine query about Baltimore’s status in his view.

“We’re reviewing things to make sure of the details of each city,” Sessions continued. “I see no justification whatsoever for any city, any jurisdiction, any state to take the view that someone who enters the country illegally and then commits some other crime should be protected from the federal law to be deported.”

Police Commissioner Davis has said that tying local law enforcement to federal immigration policy “sends the wrong message” to immigrant communities and can damage local law enforcement efforts.

In February, the Department of Homeland Security named Baltimore to its list of sanctuary cities, which in large part is made up of jurisdictions that do not cooperate with DHS requests to notify them when immigrants are being detained and hold them until its officers can be present. That same month, a number of immigrants in Baltimore, including some without criminal backgrounds after arriving in the U.S., were picked up in the city, leading to a pro-immigrant march in Highlandtown.

Baltimore does not control immigrant detention policy at its jail, as Mayor Catherine Pugh noted in an interview Tuesday after Sessions’ remarks—the state of Maryland does. Currently, the Hogan administration does not detain immigrants beyond their scheduled release when requested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials. The state does, however, provide advance information to ICE officers about the pending release of immigrant detainees so they can be on hand for their re-arrest.

Pugh described Baltimore not as a sanctuary city, but as a “welcoming city.”

“We can’t be a sanctuary city because we don’t control our jails or prison system,” Pugh said when asked about Sessions’ characterization. “But we are a welcoming city. We support all those who are in our city, who are working and adding to our city’s economy everyday.”

In November, Pugh announced that the city would become one of 11 jurisdictions around the country that are a part of the SAFE (Safety and Fairness for Everyone) Cities Network, a group devoted to protecting immigrants and funded by the Vera Institute of Justice. That initiative came on top of the establishment of a $500,000 legal defense fund—Safe City Baltimore—that was made in partnership with several local nonprofits, including the Open Society Institute.

Baltimore is one step closer to hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Back in April, when executive director for Maryland Sports Terry Hasseltine heard that the United States had entered a tri-country bid with Canada and Mexico for the 2026 World Cup, he knew that Baltimore needed to be included—so he placed a bid to host at M&T Bank Stadium.

“We obviously want to make sure that M&T Bank Stadium and the city of Baltimore are considered a part of that portfolio,” Hasseltine told Baltimore in April. “We had such a great response when we put in a bid for 2022 [FIFA World Cup], we did it again.”

In a list released on August 15 by the United Bid Committee of the United States, Mexico, and Canada, Baltimore was listed as a potential candidate to host and will have until September 5 to declare interest. Final bids will be due January 2018 pending declaration requests.

Ravens are undefeated in the pre-season.

Okay, we know it’s only two games…and it’s only pre-season but we looked good in Thursday’s game against the Miami Dolphins. 

Taking the game early, Baltimore ended the game with a final score of 31-7.

The Ravens defense controlled the tempo of the game, holding Miami to just one touchdown. Third string QB Josh Woodrum showed his chops with 2 touchdowns and some quick running. 

Speaking of the Ravens. . .
There are rumors that the former Ravens center Jeremy Zuttah may be headed back to Baltimore. The 2016 Pro-Bowler was traded to San Francisco in March. However, by August, the 49ers released him putting the big guy in a tough spot.

Considering the injuries on the offensive line and the familiarity of Zuttah, it would be a kismet reunion for both sides if he came back to Baltimore. According to The Sun, the 31-year old offensive lineman and the Ravens are close to a deal. But they better act fast because word on the street is that the Indianapolis Colts are in need of a big guy to protect QB Andrew Luck.

Under Armour’s Kevin Plank parts ways with Trump.
In a statement on Monday, August 14, Under Armour’s CEO Kevin Plank announced that he would be stepping down from President Donald J. Trump’s American Manufacturing Council after the president was openly criticized for not responding quickly to the events in Charlottesville.

“We remain resolute in our potential and ability to improve American manufacturing,” Plank said in a statement. “However, Under Armour engages in innovation and sports, not politics.”

Plank joined the 28-member panel back in January to help the White House promote job growth because he believed that “it was important for Under Armour to have an active seat at the table” representing the sports industry.  After announcing the company’s departure from the group, others on the board followed suit causing the president to disband the panel.

O’s outfielder Anthony Santander set to hit the field in today’s game.
The injury-prone outfielder was unable to play in 2016 due to a right shoulder surgery and was unable to throw during spring training because of a forearm injury. While on the disabled list for 60 days, the Venezuelan has hit .382/.453/.745 in 16 minor league rehab games. To make space for Santander on the roster, the Orioles have optioned outfielder Joey Rickard to triple-A in Norfolk. 

With deep roots in the city, not to mention its national headquarters, the NAACP kicks off its annual national convention in Baltimore this weekend.

Elected officials scheduled to speak at the convention over the next several days include Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings and Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ)—all considered possible Democratic presidential contenders in 2020—are also scheduled to appear.

The convention officially begins Friday with an opening press conference slotted for Saturday at 9:30 a.m., during which the NAACP has said it will be making an announcement about the future of the organization. The nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization has been without a president since its board of directors announced it was letting go of Cornell Brooks last month. 

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump said he had declined an invitation to address the convention. The White House said later it would be open to meeting with NAACP leadership for a dialogue. 

Among the recent issues in contention between the civil rights organization and the new president have been the Trump Administration’s efforts to collect detailed voter data from state governments.

In a statement, Leon W. Russell, chair of the NAACP national board of directors, described the nation as finding itself “in a new period of turmoil” with looming cutbacks in education funding, civil rights enforcement and health care. 

“This year’s convention takes place at a pivotal time for our country, and for our association,” said Russell.

“Our theme for 2017 (“steadfast and immovable”) reminds us that as an organization, our intent is to fulfill the vision and mission of our founders, and we will leave Baltimore united and committed to making our nation a better place for all,” said Derrick Johnson, vice-chair of the board of directors.

The five-day conference features seminars, committee meetings, workshops, exhibits and panel discussions, as well as keynote addresses from NAACP staff, civil rights and faith leaders, elected officials, and media and youth leaders.

Tessa Hill-Aston, president of the NAACP’s Baltimore City branch, who put in the city’s bid to host the convention three years ago, said five-day event offers an opportunity for Baltimore leaders to engage with city and national leaders in addressing concerns that are common across the country. She said the convention is expected to bring 5-6,000 visitors to the city.

“Baltimore has specific problems [to address], in criminal justice, for example, but many of the issues here are also issues in Chicago and Detroit and other cities across the country,” Hill-Aston said. “There are national level issues that we need to address, discuss and find solutions for.”

The Baltimore branch of NAACP, the second chartered in the country, was founded in 1912 and was led by numerous notable civil rights figures in the past, including Carl Murphy, Lillie Carroll Jackson, Juanita Jackson Mitchell and Enolia McMillian.

Baltimore, of course, is also the birthplace of Thurgood Marshall, the legendary civil rights lawyer and Supreme Court justice who successfully argued Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, thereby ending the country’s legal doctrine of segregation. Marshall, for whom the University of Maryland law school library named its library in 1980, founded the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund in 1940.

For three decades, another Baltimorean, Clarence Mitchell Jr., led the NAACP’s office in Washington D.C., where he became known as “the 101^st Senator” for his efforts in helping pass the key civil rights legislation of the 1950s and 1960s.

Two recent NAACP presidents also have deep connections to Baltimore. Former NAACP president Kweise Mfume, current chairmen of the board at Morgan State University, was born and raised here, and Ben Jealous, a Democratic candidate for governor in Maryland, spent summers visiting his grandparents in Baltimore.

Mayor Catherine Pugh, Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank, and Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz joined a host of national dignitaries by signing the “We Are Still In” pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emission in Maryland as detailed in the Paris climate change agreement.

The coalition, led by philanthropist Michael Bloomberg, is an “open letter to the international community” from local and national leaders declaring to continue the fight against global warming. This comes on the heels of President Donald Trump’s June 1 announcement to remove the United States from the agreement of 194 nations to work to hold the warming to below 2 degrees Celsius.

President Trump argues that the deal, as is, “hamstrings” the U.S. and said he plans to pursue renegotiation in an effort to make things “fair” for the country.

“In order to fulfill my solemn duty to the United States and its citizens, the U.S. will withdraw from the Paris climate accord, but begin negotiations to re-enter either the Paris accords or a really entirely new transaction, on terms that are fair to the United States,” Trump said at a press conference.

As of June 9, there are 178 cities and counties, 272 colleges and universities, and more than 1,300 private companies that have committed to “working together to take forceful action and to ensure that the U.S. remains a global leader in reducing emissions.”

The U.S. is the second largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world, and now joins Syria and Nicaragua as the only countries refusing to commit to the agreement. Although there is no penalty for withdrawing, the details of the agreement signed in 2015 by President Barack Obama, says that the earliest any country is eligible to withdraw is November 2020.

Among the list of private companies joining the “We Are Still In” pledge is Under Armour. One day after Trump’s announcement, CEO Kevin Plank released a statement asserting his disappointment with the decision.

“Climate change is real and must be taken seriously by our business community, our customers, our neighbors, and our elected officials,” he said. “Sustainability has always been part of our DNA: it’s integral to how we live and work and is essential to our environment. As a business leader concerned with creating American jobs, I disagree with the decision to exit the Paris accord.”

The impact on local jobs is also something that concerns Carl Simon, the interim executive director at environmental nonprofit Blue Water Baltimore. 

“The economic future of Baltimore is supported, strengthened, and enhanced by focusing on the rapidly growing renewable energy sector,” he explained. “There are thousands of jobs that could be, and are being, created due to strong environmental policies.”

He also added that climate change is an especially oppressing issue for a coastal city like Baltimore.

“Factually, the rate of flooding here is increased due to climate change,” he said. “Science shows the Inner Harbor, Dundalk, and other coastal parts of Baltimore flood more than they used to due to manmade climate change.”

Mayor Pugh said that Baltimore City would adopt a Climate Action Plan and Disaster Preparedness Plan that will focus on lowering the city’s impact on the environment.

“Our diverse natural ecosystems, including the Chesapeake Bay, are in serious jeopardy, yet remain the lifeblood of our region and the viability of our communities,” she said in a statement. “My endorsement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including goal thirteen, which specifically addresses climate action related to greenhouse gas reduction, recognizes the complexity of these challenges. As a city we cannot ignore the urgency of these issues.”

Kamenetz said he has been proactively taking steps to conserve energy in Baltimore County, converting traffic signals to LED bulbs, and using GPS routing programs for county fleet vehicles to reduce carbon emissions. He’d like to see the powers that be follow suit.

“I’m disturbed by Trump, but even more disturbed that Governor Hogan continues to remain silent,” he said. “I appreciate that he has accepted the general assembly initiatives to reduce energy, but by supporting the alliance, it would strengthen the commitment.”

When news broke earlier this month that the popular Obama-era initiative Let Girls Learn may become a casualty of the most recent round of federal budgeting, one Baltimorean was especially jarred. As the former director of policy for former First Lady Michelle Obama, Krishanti Vignarajah helped the administration launch the initiative in 2015. We caught up with the Woodlawn High School graduate—who now runs her own company, Generation Impact, and is expecting her first child (a daughter)—to talk about the status of Let Girls Learn, and why it’s worth saving.

Let’s start with the basics. What is Let Girls Learn and how does it work?
It’s an initiative that President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama launched in March of 2015 to support adolescent girls’ education, at home and abroad. We ultimately had seven agencies integrally involved, ranging from the State Department and our development agency, USAID, to the Department of Labor, Peace Corps and the Department of Agriculture. 

Let Girls Learn supports girls’ education in three different ways. The first is through governmental support, everything from the building and renovation of schools to “second chance programs” for girls who’ve dropped out, to science and tech camps that bring together teenage girls from around the world. But we also appreciated that the U.S. couldn’t do it alone, and so we built an international coalition of governments ranging from Japan and Pakistan, to South Korea and the United Kingdom. But . . . even an international coalition of governments couldn’t solve a problem as large as nearly 100 million adolescent girls out of school worldwide, so we partnered with about 100 private sector companies and organizations, ranging from IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Girl Scouts, and Lands’ End, to universities like Georgetown and Cambridge to help us support girls in completing middle and high school.

What was your involvement in the creation of Let Girls Learn?
Mrs. Obama had been really quite moved by the Boko Haram kidnapping of over 200 girls in Nigeria. So she raised the question of what could we do to address this heartbreaking situation of girls getting kidnapped simply for going to school. Obviously, for both the President and the First Lady, the issue was personal, both because each of their success stories was in part driven by education, but also being the parents of two daughters, the incident hit close to home. We recognized that there was some ongoing programming that the U.S. government already supported, but that there was clearly a need to step up our efforts. So, I basically tried to figure out how could we address the issue of girls’ education, in a real and enduring way.

Why focus on girls not boys?
The reality that we see, both at home and all across the world, is that girls often fall behind—particularly when it comes to middle and high school. And so you end up seeing in some places dramatically lower completion and graduation rates for girls compared to boys. What we realized is that there’s no smarter investment in the future of America than investment in girls’ education.

How so?
When you talk about diverting resources from young girls, you’re really talking about divesting from the next generation of America’s leaders, the next generation of innovators, entrepreneurs, and astrophysicists. And they’re coming from everywhere—small towns, inner cities. They’re going to be the daughters of immigrants and working-class parents. So that’s why we knew that this was a priority. The investment in these girls is not just an investment in them, but an investment in their families, communities, and countries. We know, for example, that . . . for each additional year of high school, a girl’s earning potential goes up as much as 25 percent. Another example: Girls who attend school have healthier families. A Lancet study, for example, found that increasing girls’ education was responsible for more than half the reduction in child mortality between 1970 and 2009. I could go on and on.

So what does it cost the U.S. government per year to run this program?
We ended up investing $1 billion. Unfortunately, even that large amount is still far from what’s needed, because the tragic reality is that we still have 130 million girls out of school around the world.

One billion dollars sounds like a lot of money. For comparison’s sake, what are some other budget line items?
So, for example, our HIV/AIDS funding through PEPFAR, which President Bush created, receives about $7 billion. The State Department budget is about $50 to $51 billion, while the Defense Department budget is about $600 billion.

In terms of soft diplomacy, is Let Girls Learn one of the best investments we can make? You know, winning hearts and minds and all that.
Absolutely. [Secretary of Defense] General [James] Mattis has said this, ‘If you don’t fund the State Department fully, then I need to buy more ammunition ultimately.’ In some cases, it’s pennies on the dollar compared to the other investments we make. But you absolutely get the best bang for your buck.

As of today, it is unclear what the status of Let Girls Learn is. Initial reports suggested it was cut, then the State Department released a statement saying that the program will remain intact, but may get rebranded.
As you can imagine, I sort of scrambled to try to find out what was happening and what was potentially on the chopping block. I’ll tell you I think there is a lot of confusion about what exactly is being contemplated. In my mind, what is absolutely clear is that educating the next generation of women cannot become a casualty of partisan politics.

Do you worry that the Trump administration is just trying to avoid bad publicity here and fully intends to quietly end the initiative?
I realize that there’s always a chance with a new administration that an initiative like Let Girls Learn could have a bull’s-eye on it because it was so closely identified with the [former administration]. But . . . it would just make no sense. President [George W.] Bush, for example, launched the Millennium Challenge Corporation as a new approach to development and to substantially increase HIV/AIDS funding through PEPFAR. When we came into the White House, we realized the importance of these programs and actually increased funding for them. And the idea that something is bad just because it’s what a prior administration has done is at odds with the legacy of the White House.

On Thursday, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire) introduced the Keeping Girls in School Act, which aims to preserve some aspects of Let Girls Learn, should the Trump administration decide to jettison the initiative. 
Of course, I appreciate any effort to safeguard the significant achievements we made through Let Girls Learn. But it’s too bad if we need legislation to protect an initiative intended to ensure girls get an education—this issue should be above the fray of politics.

What if the Trump administration decides to keep the program but rebrands it? Why would changing that name and that brand be such a loss?
We launched Let Girls Learn in over 50 countries around the world. And as you can imagine, when Michelle Obama says ‘Let Girls Learn,’ people hear it and it means something. We had successful public service announcements that we put out that had everyone from Meryl Streep to John Legend making the case to let girls learn. Likewise, when we launched a social media campaign asking people to respond to the question ‘What did you learn in school?’ we got an overwhelming response. It ended up trending number one [on Twitter] domestically and number three internationally. We had everyone from David Cameron to Prince Harry to Beyoncé all supporting this cause. To rebrand and remove all of that would threaten to take away all of the awareness we’ve raised.

So, you’re saying there’s a lot invested in the brand already. It’d be like trying to rename Nike or something.
It’s like relabeling Coca-Cola and instead calling it Brown Fizzy Water. If you think there’s no cost to that, you’re failing to appreciate what Coca-Cola has built.

London calling.
It’s only a seven-hour direct flight.

The NFL formally announced this week that the Ravens will be one of eight NFL teams to play a game in London next year. Overseas games are big business for the league, which has staged 17 games in the United Kingdom since 2007, most in front at least 83,000 fans at Wembley Stadium, where soccer is typically played.

Joe Flacco and friends will be there either Sept. 24 or Oct. 1, 2017 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Whatever happens, hopefully no one makes like Paul Rudd in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and leaves a bad impression across the pond.

As for this year, after losing to the Patriots on Monday night and releasing veteran returner Devin Hester, the Ravens can still make the playoffs. They just need to win their last three regular-season games (vs. Philadelphia on Sunday, at Pittsburgh on Christmas Day and at Cincinnati on New Year’s Day), or even lose one and get some help from other teams losing. That would avoid a dubious first: missing the playoffs in two straight years for the first time in coach John Harbaugh’s nine seasons.

Get your tea and crumpets ready, #RavensFlock.

Next season, we will play a road game vs. Jacksonville at London’s Wembley Stadium. pic.twitter.com/SqYDeaWk7L
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) December 13, 2016

Pugh, Trump meet at Army-Navy game.
Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh met face-to-(hair?) with President-elect Donald Trump in the bowels of M&T Bank Stadium last Saturday at the 117th Army-Navy football game.

Pugh shared details of the brief exchange with reporters on Wednesday at City Hall. She greeted Trump as he got out of his car and she hand-delivered a letter that details what she hopes are common interests: improving parts of the city’s infrastructure.

Pugh offered Baltimore as “the perfect place to target” federal money for the type of upgrades Trump has touted he will make happen during his presidency. The meat of the letter focused on transportation around a redeveloped Port Covington and a proposed expansion of the Howard Street rail tunnel, upgrading aging water and sewer systems—please, not another sinkhole!—and strengthening citywide internet capabilities.

In typical lightning-rod fashion, when he arrived inside the home of the Ravens during the first quarter, Trump drew some cheers while protesters outside voiced their opinions and officials boosted security for the visit. On air with CBS television during the game, which Army won 21-17 to snap Navy’s 14-game win streak in the series, Trump said of the play on the field: “I don’t know if it’s necessarily the best football—but it’s very good—but, boy, do they have spirit.”

So there’s that. But at least sports brought a Democrat and a Republican together for a few minutes, and gave the city an audience.

With @realDonaldTrump in Baltimore I delivered a letter noting importance of our infrastructure needs & need for investment of federal funds pic.twitter.com/61OsajKvtQ
— Catherine Pugh (@MayorPugh50) December 10, 2016

O’s, kids have fun at holiday party.
The Oriole Bird slipped into his Santa suit and hat—where does he get these things?—and joined Orioles players Chris Davis, Darren O’Day, Caleb Joseph and Tyler Wilson, and 80 outpatients from the University of Maryland Children’s Hospital, at the team’s 38th annual charity holiday party on Tuesday.

The kids and adults (well, baseball players are really kids, too) hit the arcade games and shared lunch at Dave & Buster’s at Arundel Mills Mall. Chicken nuggets, pizza and fries were on the menu. Davis even poured a few drinks at the bar: punch and lemonade. And he later joked about how fun it was to get “dominated in games by kids that are half your age.”

Davis and his wife, Jill, a former nurse who worked in a children’s hospital in Texas, have partnered this year with UMCH and they will serve as an ambassadors for the hospital. The Davis’ plan to raise awareness of the hospital’s programs (last year it cared for 40,000 children) and childhood illnesses, in addition to donations that Baltimore’s $161 million dollar man and spouse have already made to the hospital’s NICU unit.

A holiday cheers to that. Now, Santa Bird, we love you and your outfit, but how about that starting pitcher or two we’ve been waiting on the last few years?