Elijah Cummings says he got Trump to stop saying this about the black community

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) said that he got President Donald Trump to stop characterizing black communities as war zones during their meeting Wednesday. He explained the interaction to Wolf Blitzer on CNN.

"I said it in a very respectful way," Cummings said, "and I said Mr. President maybe no one has said this to you so I'm gonna tell you today. That it seems like when you talk about the African American community, you seem to want to judge our community by our weakest link."

I said there are vibrant and many, many vibrant African-American communities throughout this country. People doing extremely well. And I said I've lived in the same house for 35 years in the inner, inner city of Baltimore. I don't feel threatened, I feel very good about it.

"And I said, do me a favor," he continued. "When you're talking about the African American community, don't make it sound like we're in foxholes, and we're afraid to walk down the street."

"And you know," Cummings concluded, "he shook his head, and said, 'You got a point there, I'm gonna change, I'm gonna change that language, you're absolutely right.' "

Cummings said he told the president not to make it sound like all African Americans are afraid to walk down the street pic.twitter.com/VWYqSzIybb
— The Situation Room (@CNNSitRoom) March 8, 2017

Cummings also described how he engaged with Trump on the issue of voter suppression, saying, "C'mon Mr. President, there's no voter fraud. But there is voter suppression."

Cummings said he told the president, "In North Carolina, a three judge panel has already said that the North Carolina legislature with precision did everything in their power to stop African Americans from voting and people who would normally vote for Democrats."

"You cannot have a legitimate voter survey," he said to Trump, "or evaluation in the United States without addressing the issue of voter suppression."

Cummings said he delivered a letter documenting the issue of voter suppression to Trump and to Vice President Mike Pence, and that the president responded, "You know, you got a good point there."

Cummings says he told President Trump there's no voter fraud, “but there is voter suppression" https://t.co/zGvwCQjYBY
— The Situation Room (@CNNSitRoom) March 8, 2017

Cummings just recently excoriated Trump for resisting questions about his campaign's connections to the Russians, saying that "our democracy" is at stake. He was also caught spreading fake tweets about Trump's former national security adviser in an attempt to criticize him when it was discovered he lied to Pence about his interactions with a Russian ambassador.