Skimm This: Trump vs. Cities, John Ratcliffe and Greta Thunberg

It’s July 29th. Today, we Skimm’d This: 

• President Trump sparked outrage over the weekend with tweets about Maryland Representatives Elijah Cummings and his home district of Baltimore. They’re feeding an long standing divide between urban and rural voters. We break down the newest Twitter drama for you.

• Speaking of having a hard time: Director of National Intelligence Don Coats is stepping down. We explain why his possible successor is a Trump favorite.

• It’s Earth Overshoot Day. The day we start owing a debt to the planet because of the resources we’re using.  At least Greta Thunberg is taking the “reduce” part of the climate change mantra seriously. 

• If the word “shark” triggers a ‘dun dun, dun dun, dun dun’ song in your head -  you’re ready for Shark Week. We got the fun facts to put you at ease on the beach.

theSkimm: This weekend President Trump unleashed a Twitter tirade against the city of Baltimore and Maryland Congressman Elijah Cummings. Trump said Charm City is “infested with rodents,” and “dangerous,” reigniting the ‘good country, bad cities’ stereotype. We’ll explain what the numbers say about Baltimore and why Trump could still benefit from his attacks on America's inner cities. Also over the weekend: Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats updated his LinkedIn, announcing he’s stepping down in August. Trump is tapping Congressman John Ratcliffe of Texas to fill the role. We break down why Coats was on the outs with Trump and why Ratcliff's choice is raising some eyebrows. Also on today’s episode: Greta Thunberg’s unconventional plans to get to the US and which summer threats are scarier than Shark Week.