The war of words between President Donald Trump, left, and Gov. Wes Moore heated up over the weekend. (Trump from a White House screengrab; Moore photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters)
The war of words between President Donald Trump and Gov. Wes Moore heated up Sunday as Trump threatened to send federal troops to Baltimore and hinted that he might try to take back funding to replace the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
The comments came in a social media post late Sunday morning, three days after Moore blasted Trump’s criticism of crime in Baltimore and other big cities, telling the president that “if you are not willing to walk our communities, keep our name out of your mouth.”
They also came as Moore was appearing on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” where the governor called Trump’s decision to deploy National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., unconstitutional and “deeply disrespectful” to the local government and residents.
Trump responded to Moore’s “rather nasty and provocative” statements with a lengthy post that repeated his claims about “out of control, crime ridden” Baltimore, and said he “would much prefer that he clean up this Crime disaster before I go there for a ‘walk.’”
“But if Wes Moore needs help … I will send in the ‘troops,’ which is being done in nearby DC, and quickly clean up the Crime,” Trump’s post said.
Trump ended his missive by noting that “I gave Wes Moore a lot of money to fix his demolished bridge. I will now have to rethink that decision???” an apparent reference to a congressionally approved commitment to fully fund replacement for the Key Bridge after it was destroyed in a crash with a container ship last year.
The response from Maryland officials was swift and unsparing, led by Moore who in a post on X said he “can get you a golf cart, if that makes things easier” for “President Bone Spurs” — an apparent references to Trump’s draft deferments for having bone spurs — who would rather spout “more lies about the progress we’re making on public safety in Maryland” than walk the streets.
On “Face the Nation,” Moore said the president’s use of National Guard and other federal forces in the District — and his threat to repeat the action in other large cities — is “purely performative, without actually focusing on these communities.”
“The reason I have asked the president to come and join us is that he seems to enjoy being in this blissful ignorance, these tropes, these 1980 scare tactics,” Moore said on the show. “While the president spends his time from the Oval Office, making jabs and attacks at us, there are people actually on the ground doing the work, who know what brings down crime, but it’s falling on deaf ears with the president of the United States.”
In a social media post after Moore’s comments Thursday, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said violent crime in the city was at 50-year lows, and while the city welcomed federal investment to continue driving down crime, it was “not interested” in a deployment of troops that would “erode residents’ rights” to stage a photo op.
Other Democrats quickly joined in, with Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) calling Trump’s threat to deploy troops a distraction from other issues.
“Trump is now threatening to extend his drastic overreach by using the U.S. military against Americans — we are not interested in his distractions away from his disastrous policies that have cut health care, raised the cost of insurance, and the cost of living for all of us,” Alsobrooks said in a statement released by her office Sunday.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) criticized “Trump’s desire to play dictator with our military on American soil” as well as his “unlawful threats to claw back federal funding that Congress explicitly approved” for the Key Bridge.
“While there’s more we can do together, Trump’s threats to invade our cities are not the answer – and are sad attempts to distract from his failures to actually put forward solutions to these and other issues facing our communities, like the rising cost of living,” Van Hollen said in a statement. “Instead of politicizing our great City of Baltimore, which Trump knows nothing about, he should just button it up while federal, state, and local law enforcement do their important work.”
It is not clear what authority Trump would have to “rethink” funding Congress approved for the Key Bridge. But he and his Cabinet have not been hesitant to cut other previously approved programs and let the courts figure it out.
But Moore warned that any such cuts would face a fight.
“We worked across the aisle to secure funding to rebuild this iconic bridge, an action that is written into law because of the leaders who put politics aside to make Baltimore whole again,” Moore said in a statement released by his office Sunday. “President Trump’s attack threatens this bipartisan agreement that is a win for port workers, truckers, small businesses, service members, and working families throughout Maryland and across America. Any threats to this funding will cause irrevocable damage to the national economy and to the entire State of Maryland.”
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