Maryland’s congressional delegation condemn Trump tweets; Harris silent

TOPICS:

Posted By: Ryan Miner July 2, 2017

By Ryan Miner 

Maryland’s lone Republican congressman, Rep. Andy Harris, has been conspicuously silent on President Donald Trump’s latest early-morning tweets attacking Morning Joe’s Mike Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough.

Last Thursday morning, Trump took to Twitter and tweeted:

Trump’s tweets personally attacking Brzezinski and her fiancé, Scarborough, instantly received bipartisan condemnation. The tweets continue to dominate cable news headlines heading into the 4th of July weekend.

Several members of Maryland’s elected congressional delegation took to Twitter to condemn Trump’s latest Twitter assault.

Several elected Republicans, including House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), took on Trump’s remarks. When asked about Trump’s tweets during a press conference last Thursday, Ryan said,

“Obviously, I don’t see that as an appropriate comment. What we’re trying to do around here is improve the civility and tone of the debate, and this obviously does not do that.”

Andy Harris hasn’t been shy about publicly embracing the president. Since Trump won the Republican nomination and subsequently won the presidency, Harris has been one of Trump’s most loyal congressional allies and defenders.

According to Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight bl0g, Harris is 97.2% in line with Trump. At a town hall meeting held earlier this year in March, Harris was booed loudly by members of the audience.

At the same town hall event, Harris even threatened to have campus security remove a female who was shouting, saying, “Ma’am, if you yell one more time like that, I’m going to ask the campus security to kick you out of here.”

On Friday, I contacted Harris’ D.C. congressional office and spoke with his communications director, Jacque Clark, requesting comment on where Harris stands on Trump’s latest tweets attacking the Morning Joe co-hosts.

Clark said emphatically that Congressman Harris doesn’t comment on “things like that” and doesn’t issue statements on “talking heads” or what members of his party says. She emphasized that Harris stands by the president and continues to support his agenda.

Clark requested that I send her an email with questions. She said she would speak to Rep. Harris and may or may not get back with me.

I sent the following email to Clark:

Good Morning, Ms. Clark,It was a pleasure to speak with you this morning.I am writing an article about Congressman Harris’ support of President Trump on my political blog, AMinerDetail.com.

Does Rep. Harris have a comment on the president’s latest tweets attacking Morning Joe co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough?
Several of the congressman’s Republican congressional colleagues have issued public statements condemning the president’s attacks. Where does Rep. Harris stand? Does he support the president’s latest tweets, or does he categorically condemn them?
Does Rep. Harris believe the president’s tweets are helpful in governing, and why has Rep. Harris failed to issue any statement on social media or elsewhere?
Does the congressman view President Trump’s tweets and past behavior towards women as an attack on women?
The congressman maintained his support of the president (as a candidate then) even after the Access Hollywood tape was leaked last October – the same tape in which Trump bragged that he could grab women by the genitals without repercussion.

My deadline is 5:00 p.m. today.

Thank you,Ryan Miner

At 3:46 p.m., Clark responded to my questions via email, writing,

Hello Ryan,

Congressman Harris has no comment on this matter.

Enjoy your holiday next week,

Jacque Clark

I intend to follow up with Clark next week.

Related Articles

Be the first to comment on "Maryland’s congressional delegation condemn Trump tweets; Harris silent"

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published.




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.