'Stop talking and get to work': Trump blasts Democrat Gov. Wes Moore over Maryland crime

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore appears eager to paint a rosy picture of his state and to downplay the severity of its crime problem. President Donald Trump simply isn't buying what the Democrat is selling.

The president announced on Aug. 11 that he was federalizing the Washington Metropolitan Police Department and deploying the National Guard in order to "re-establish law, order, and public safety" to the national capital.

FBI statistics show that Baltimore has 'the fifth-most instances of violent crime on a per capita basis, [and the] fourth-highest murder rate.'

Despite complaints from Democrats and other leftists, the initiative has been tremendously successful. In the first week, D.C. saw a 19% drop in property crimes and a 17% drop in violent crimes when compared with the previous week. The city also enjoyed at least 10 days without a murder.

Trump indicated at the outset that he has a mind to similarly bring law and order to other crime-ridden cities, including Baltimore, a city of fewer than 570,000 people, which has a 1 rating on Neighborhood Scout's crime index where 100 is safest. Trump's threat of a life-saving federal intervention did not sit well with Moore.

Less than two weeks after offering a knee-jerk critique of the president's deployment of the National Guard, Moore suggested in an Aug. 21 letter to Trump that his state and the city of Baltimore are making progress where crime is concerned, citing a supposed 20% drop in homicides statewide since he took office two and a half years ago and a 22% year-over-year decrease in Baltimore homicides in the first six months of 2025.

Moore suggested that Baltimore was "on track to have the lowest number of homicides" since the city began officially keeping crime statistics, then invited Trump to attend a "public safety walk" in September.

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Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

The Democratic governor followed up his letter with an interview on Sunday with CBS News' "Face the Nation," where he vowed not to authorize the Maryland National Guard to be utilized for Trump's law and order initiative; characterized the deployment of the National Guard as "unconstitutional"; and claimed that Trump was both "living in this blissful ignorance" and engaging in "1980s scare tactics" on the crime issue.

Baltimore's Democrat mayor, Brandon Scott, has similarly suggested that Trump is pushing a false narrative about the crime problem in Maryland, stating, "When it comes to public safety in Baltimore, [Trump] should turn off the right-wing propaganda and look at the facts. Baltimore is the safest it's been in over 50 years."

'Stop talking and get to work, Wes.'

Despite signaling an aversion to federal troops in Baltimore and suggesting things have improved in his city, Mayor Scott has called for "additional resources for Baltimore's ATF, DEA, and FBI field offices."

Moore did not argue with talking head Margaret Brennan when she acknowledged that FBI statistics show that Baltimore has "the fifth-most instances of violent crime on a per capita basis, [and the] fourth-highest murder rate," but he rejected Trump's strategy in D.C. as a possible remedy, calling it "purely performative."

Trump punched back on Sunday, writing on Truth Social, "Governor Wes Moore of Maryland has asked, in a rather nasty and provocative tone, that I 'walk the streets of Maryland' with him. I assume he is talking about out of control, crime ridden, Baltimore? 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. 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," continued Trump. "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!" added the president.

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