Baltimore representative says lack of compassion after bridge collapse is ‘sickening’

Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-MD) said it is sickening that there is “no compassion” in the aftermath of Tuesday’s bridge collapse in Baltimore, slamming some Republicans who have blamed the event on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Mfume, whose district encompasses most of Maryland’s most populous city, appeared Saturday on MSNBC to discuss recent developments in the cleanup and rebuilding efforts after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge with the Rev. Al Sharpton. The representative said the rerouting of traffic and subsequent closure of the Port of Baltimore has had a huge effect on the area but that the rest of the nation will feel the supply chain ramifications soon. Sharpton then asked Mfume for his thoughts on the conspiracy theories that have emerged.

“Petty minds have always come up with petty conspiracies, and I think that’s what we see now,” Mfume said. “It is unfortunate, but I urge people to pay attention because some of these petty conspiracies being brought up with people with petty minds are people that represent different parts of the country, and people who are angered by that ought to recognize that elections have consequences, and we just can’t keep electing people who are going to run out boogeyman’s theories every time something happens.”

One X user referred to Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott as a “DEI mayor” in a post that has been viewed over 25 million times, and several Republican lawmakers, candidates, and pundits suggested DEI was to blame for the bridge crumbling into the Patapsco River.

“We want to relieve a situation, and [Scott]’s a good strong mayor, he’s not affected by these charges, but the fact that there are charges anyway of DEI for a bridge collapse is almost laughable, if not unbelievable,” Mfume said.

Sharpton and Mfume also discussed the optics between the responses to the collapse from President Joe Biden and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. The reverend pointed out that the latter has been noticeably silent on the matter, while the former allocated $60 million in immediate aid, promised the federal government will cover the cost of rebuilding the bridge, and indicated that he will visit the site next week.

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“The contrast is stark, and it is also revealing because it speaks not so much to what the individual is made out of, but what they are not made of, and Donald Trump does not seem to be made out of compassion or caring,” Mfume said before criticizing the former president for his disparaging remarks about the late Rep. Elijah Cummings, whose seat Mfume filled in 2020.

“It’s so sickening, quite frankly … in that there is no compassion,” Mfume said. “And the thing that should not be lost in all of this is that there were six families affected — two bodies pulled out of the water and four that they’re still searching for. These were husbands, these were fathers, they worked two jobs, some had been in the country for 17 years, 18 years, 19 years. These were taxpaying citizens … when you attack the city and attack the catastrophe, you’re also attacking them and their families.”