President Donald Trump has been sparring with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore about crime levels in his state, ending with the commander-in-chief telling the Democrat to “stop talking and get to work.”
Trump recently mobilized the National Guard to secure Washington, D.C., amid increased crime levels in recent years, and Moore was one of the officials who criticized the move.
Moore wrote a letter to Trump on Aug. 21, insisting that the city of Baltimore, one of the most dangerous in the nation, was able to reduce crime levels without making a public display of their efforts.
“Even in the face of millions of dollars in cuts to federal funding for violence intervention and gun violence prevention under your administration — including to programs directly credited with lowering rates of homicide and other violent crimes — our state and local communities continue to invest in proven strategies that help us build safer, more vibrant neighborhoods,” Moore wrote.
Baltimore has been ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the 4th Most Dangerous City in America.
The weak-on-crime policies of Mayor Brandon Scott, Governor Wes Moore, and other Maryland Democrats are making our state less safe. We need change- Vote Republican in 2026! pic.twitter.com/yCaAW34dMZ
— Maryland Republican Party (@MDGOP) July 25, 2025
Moore claimed that an “all-of-the-above approach to public safety” that addresses “the root causes of crime” led to a 20 percent decrease in Maryland homicides.
“If there’s anything Maryland has proven over the last two years, it’s that we can achieve performance without being performative,” he insisted.
Is Trump’s focus on crime effective?
Crime may be going down in Maryland, but it certainly hasn’t been stamped out.
A Tuesday report from the left-leaning outlet The Hill ranked Baltimore, the state’s most populous city, as having the third-highest rate of violent crime among U.S. cities with 500,000 or more residents.
The report utilized FBI crime statistics for its analysis.
After making his comments, Moore then invited Trump to attend the next “public safety walk” in Baltimore, which is slated to occur next month.
Trump was not immediately warm to the idea.
“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?” Trump posted Sunday on Truth Social.
Donald J. Trump Truth Social 08.24.25 10:12 AM EST pic.twitter.com/jcTchgHz7r
— Fan Donald J. Trump Posts From Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) August 24, 2025
“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 continued.
The commander-in-chief offered to send in military assets to “quickly clean up the Crime,” noting that “after only one week, there is NO CRIME AND NO MURDER IN DC!”
Only after that point, Trump continued, would he “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,” Trump observed. “Stop talking and get to work, Wes. I’ll then see you on the streets!!!”
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