Donald Trump has lashed out at Maryland Governor Wes Moore after he invited him to walk the streets of Baltimore.
The 79-year-old U.S. president slammed Moore’s offer to partake in a public safety walk next month as “rather nasty and provocative.”
Trump has threatened to deploy the National Guard to Maryland and other Democratic-leaning cities such as Chicago as part of a crackdown on crime.
- Donald Trump slammed Maryland Governor Wes Moore's public safety walk invitation as ‘nasty and provocative.’
- Governor Moore highlighted a 20% drop in Maryland homicides since his inauguration, with declines in Baltimore gun violence.
- Trump threatened National Guard deployment and federal funding cuts amid crime crackdown plans in Democratic cities.
It comes after he sent about 2,000 troops into Washington, D.C., and federalized the city’s police department.
Donald Trump threatened Maryland Governor Wes Moore
Image credits: The White House/Flickr
“As President, I would much prefer that he clean up this Crime disaster before I go there for a ‘walk.’ Wes Moore’s record on Crime is a very bad one, unless he fudges his figures on crime like many of the other ‘Blue States’ are doing,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“But if Wes Moore needs help, like Gavin Newscum did in L.A., I will send in the ‘troops,’ which is being done in nearby DC, and quickly clean up the Crime. After only one week, there is NO CRIME AND NO MURDER IN DC!
“When it is like that in Baltimore, I will proudly ‘walk the streets’ with the failing, because of Crime, Governor of Maryland. P.S. Baltimore is ranked the 4th WORST CITY IN THE NATION IN CRIME & MURDER. Stop talking and get to work, Wes. I’ll then see you on the streets!!!”
Trump’s post came in response to a letter Moore, 46, sent regarding his concerns about threats to deploy the National Guard to Maryland.
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In the letter, Moore said homicides in Maryland were down statewide by 20% since his inauguration two-and-a-half years ago.
The Baltimore Police Department had seen double-digit reductions in gun violence in the first six months of 2025, he said.
Statistics showed a 22% decrease in homicides and a 19% decrease in non-fatal shootings from the year before.
However, FBI statistics show that Baltimore has the fifth most instances of violent crime per capita and the fourth-highest murder rate in the U.S.
“We are currently on track to have the lowest number of homicides in Baltimore City since we began officially keeping crime statistics,” Moore wrote.
He further pointed to the Trump administration’s federal funding cuts for violence intervention and gun violence prevention programs.
.@POTUS, I heard Baltimore was on your mind.
We wanted to send you a formal invitation to join @MayorBMScott, @BaltimoreSAO, our local electeds, law enforcement, and community for a public safety walk next month. Whatever date works best for you!
We hope you’ll come to see how…
— Governor Wes Moore (@GovWesMoore) August 21, 2025
In a direct offer to Trump, he wrote: “I would like to formally invite you to attend our next public safety walk in September, at a date of your choosing.”
“In Maryland and in Baltimore, you will find people who share the same commitment to public safety that I have—and who want to be part of the solution, not the problem,” he added.
Trump was so offended by the offer that he threatened to pull funding for the reconstruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed last year when a container ship crashed into it, killing six people.
Trump also suggested that Moore was lying about receiving a Bronze Star, which he was awarded in 2024 for his meritorious service in Afghanistan in 2005-06.
“President Bone Spurs will do anything to get out of walking—even if that means spouting off more lies about the progress we’re making on public safety in Maryland,” Moore said in response to Trump’s post.
“Hey Donald, we can get you a golf cart if that makes things easier. Just let my team know.”
Trump told Moore to ‘stop talking and get to work’
In D.C., National Guard troops will begin carrying firearms, NBC reported Sunday. The development comes after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly authorized about 2,000 National Guard troops to begin carrying weapons, according to a source who spoke to the outlet.
Last Thursday, while visiting law enforcement officers and National Guard troops in D.C., Trump vowed to undertake similar crime crackdowns in Democratic-led cities across the U.S.
“We’re not playing games,” he said while thanking troops dispatched to the capital from Republican-led states.
“We’re going to make it safe, and we’re going to then go on to other places. But we’re going to stay here for a while. We want to make this absolutely perfect. It’s our capital.”
Part of Trump’s D.C. crackdown includes clearing out homeless encampments, prompting homeless advocates to raise concerns over displaced people’s safety, lack of shelter options, and the criminalization of poverty.
Earlier this month, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said homeless individuals “will be given the option to leave their encampment, to be taken to a homeless shelter to be offered addiction or mental health services, and if they refuse, they will be susceptible to fines or to jail time.”
The fate of those displaced in Washington, D.C., remains uncertain, with many people still unaccounted for.
Image credits: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Democrats have denounced Trump for wanting to use his D.C. playbook in other major American cities, such as Chicago and New York.
“There is no emergency that warrants the President of the United States federalizing the Illinois National Guard, deploying the National Guard from other states, or sending active duty military within our own borders,” Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said in a statement Saturday.
“Donald Trump is attempting to manufacture a crisis, politicize Americans who serve in uniform, and continue abusing his power to distract from the pain he is causing working families,” he added.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker claimed Trump is trying to manufacture a crisis
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