Donald Trump has gloated about the burglary of a house belonging to a black congressman.
Elijah Cummings has been a target of the president in recent days, calling his Baltimore district a “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess” where “no human” would want to live.
Police said they received a report of a burglary on Saturday at the West Baltimore home of Cummings, but it was unknown whether property was taken.
On Friday afternoon, Trump tweeted: “Really bad news! The Baltimore house of Elijah Cummings was robbed. Too bad!”
Cummings’ House oversight committee has been investigating Trump family members serving in the White House.
Reaction to the tweet was one of dismay with Nikki Haley, who served under Trump as US ambassador to the UN, calling it “unnecessary”.
Others were less subtle in their criticism.
US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi has defended Cummings, saying: “The president, this comes as no surprise, really doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
“But maybe you could ask his son-in-law, who’s a slumlord there, if he wants to talk about rodent infestations,” Pelosi said, in an apparent reference to Jared Kushner, who is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka.
A real estate firm run by Kushner’s family owns thousands of rental units in Maryland, most in Baltimore County, the Baltimore Sun reported earlier this year.