Md. Gov. Wes Moore trades barbs with Trump as president mulls National Guard deployment
A war of words has erupted between President Donald Trump and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore after the president suggested he would “send in” the National Guard to Baltimore.
Trump initially referred to Baltimore during a press conference last week, when he listed other Democratic-led cities as he said his administration was “not going to lose” to crime, the Baltimore Banner reported.
This came as Trump deployed the National Guard into Washington, D.C.
On Aug. 21, Moore wrote a letter to Trump and said the president insulted him “personally from the Oval Office.
The Democratic governor asked Trump to join him for a public safety walk in the city in September to show the progress Baltimore has made in lowering crime.
“If there’s anything Maryland has proven over the last two years, it’s that we can achieve performance without being performative,” Moore wrote. “Progress requires the right tool for the right mission. Asking the patriotic citizen soldiers of our National Guard to police our cities doesn’t meet that test.”
That same day, at a city event, Moore said for the president to hear, “If you are not willing to walk our community, keep our name out of your mouth. If you are not willing to stand with our people, keep our names out of your mouth,” the Banner reported.
Trump replied to Moore on his social media platform, Truth Social, and told Moore to “stop talking and get to work, Wes. I’ll then see you on the streets!!!”
“As President, I would much prefer that he clean up this Crime disaster before I go there for a ‘walk,’” Trump posted. “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. But if Wes Moore needs help, like [California Gov. Gavin Newsom] did in L.A., I will send in the ‘troops,’ which is being done in nearby DC, and quickly clean up the Crime.”
Moore took to X to respond , referencing Trump’s bone spurs diagnosis that led to his deferment from serving during the Vietnam War.
“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 posted. ”Hey Donald, we can get you a golf cart if that makes things easier. Just let my team know."
Trump has also said he plans to send the National Guard to Chicago, which Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has also criticized.
The back-and-forth between Moore and Trump echoes one other ongoing feud between the Republican president and another Democratic governor.
Newsom, already a critic of the president during Trump’s first term, slammed the president’s response to massive wildfires across Los Angeles earlier in the year.
The feud escalated after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid at a Home Depot in Paramount, California, south of Los Angeles, sparked protests and led Trump to deploy the National Guard without Newsom’s approval.
Since the National Guard left the West Coast city, Newsom has continued to post about and mimic the president. This has included posts that referred to Trump as “Tiny Hands,” typing in all capital letters and signing off with his initials, as Trump does with his online posts.
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