White House correspondent April Ryan didn’t hesitate to defend her native Baltimorean Monday when asked about her response to President Trump’s attacks over the weekend against Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD).

Ryan, who’s covered the White House for 22 years, believes that the reason for Trump’s attacks go beyond Cummings’ criticism of Homeland Security chief Kevin McAleenan for the department’s child separation policy.

“We have a president who is limited in his approach when it comes to people,” Ryan said on CNN. “He believes in scaffoldings and concrete, things without a heart. This is heartless, this is not politics. It’s about humanity.”

Ryan then said that Trump has the authority to address the issues in Baltimore, which the President called a “rat and rodent infested mess” over the weekend.

“He can change the dynamic instead of throwing the ball to someone else to catch,” Ryan said. “He is the President of the United States who would declare a state of emergency. If it’s that bad, do something about it.”

Ryan added that Trump’s attacks have to do with “playing to his base.”

“If we remember, how did he become a politician, by calling then-President Barack Obama illegitimate because he wanted to believe in his mind that he was born somewhere else other than the United States,” Ryan said.

Watch Ryan weigh in on Trump’s attacks on Cummings and Baltimore below:

White House correspondent April Ryan weighs in on Trump's attacks against Baltimore. pic.twitter.com/VBYokZBCFc

— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) July 29, 2019