President Donald Trump on Tuesday asserted he has "zero strategy" in hurling denigrating remarks at Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., and the city of Baltimore — and claimed he has gotten a groundswell of support from African Americans.
Speaking to reporters on returning to the White House from a trip to Jamestown, Virginia, Trump asserted "All it is, is I'm pointing out facts. The most unsafe city in our country is Baltimore."
"There's no strategy. I have no strategy. There's zero strategy," Trump said.
"I'm just telling you the facts," he added. "I'm not angry at anybody. I'm just saying Elijah Cummings has been there for 26 years . . . he's seen these mayors get thrown out, thrown out, thrown out. They're all friends of his."
The president also declared "the least racist person" in the world, and said "African American people love the job" he is doing, despite findings of a Quinnipiac University poll that found 80 percent of black voters think he is a racist.
"They really appreciate what I'm doing, and they've let me know it," Trump said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.