Donald Trump assumed Congressman John Lewis represents a poor black ghetto. He’s wrong.

| 7:50 pm EST January 14, 2017
Dear Palmer Report readers, we all understand the difficult era we're heading into. Major media outlets are caving to Trump already. Even the internet itself and publishing platforms may be at risk. But Palmer Report is nonetheless going to lead the fight. We're funding our 2025 operating expenses now, so we can keep publishing no matter what happens. I'm asking you to contribute if you can, because the stakes are just so high. You can donate here.

After Congressman John Lewis stated his view last night that Donald Trump is not a legitimate president due to Russian interference in the election, the inevitable happened today: Trump began antagonizing Lewis on Twitter. But Trump’s insults weren’t what stood out. Instead, remarkably, Trump appeared to have assumed that Lewis represents a poor black ghetto of a district But as it turns out, Trump couldn’t have made a more inaccurate assumption.

Trump’s multi-tweet diatribe went like this: “Congressman John Lewis should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to mention crime infested) rather than falsely complaining about the election results. All talk, talk, talk – no action or results. Sad! Congressman John Lewis should finally focus on the burning and crime infested inner-cities of the U.S. I can use all the help I can get!” Here’s the thing: just what congressional district is Trump describing? Certainly not the district which Lewis represents.

Georgia’s 5th Congressional District, which has elected John Lewis to Congress fifteen times in a row, does not remotely resemble the hellhole which Donald Trump described in his tweets. Instead the the Georgia 5th includes about three-quarters of Atlanta, including urban and suburban areas, some wealthy neighborhoods, and four universities. The population is diverse, being 60% black, 32% white, and 8% hispanic. And according to the local newspaper, Atlanta is not among the most top ten crime-ridden cities in America.

So what led Donald Trump to mistakenly assume that John Lewis represents a “crime infested” district that’s in “horrible shape” and might be on fire as well? One can only guess. Did he think that the African-American Lewis could only get elected to Congress from an all-black district which (in Trump’s mind) must therefore be a burning hellhole? Donald Trump’s flub offers some insight into his mistaken understanding of the American landscape.