Trump Threatens National Guard Deployment to Baltimore Amid Tensions with Maryland Governor
Washington, D.C., August 24, 2025 — President Donald Trump has escalated his political battle with Maryland Governor Wes Moore by threatening to send National Guard troops to Baltimore, following the governor’s invitation for the president to tour the city and discuss public safety efforts.
Trump’s comments, made via his social media platform Truth Social on Sunday, came after Moore criticized the president’s previous deployment of National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., where thousands of soldiers and federal law enforcement officers are currently patrolling the streets to combat crime and homelessness. Trump targeted Baltimore as the next city where he might expand such military deployments, branding the governor’s invitation as “nasty and provocative.” He suggested that if Baltimore achieves a crime-free status similar to D.C.’s current situation under military presence, he would consider joining Moore for a street walk through the city.
“After only one week, there is NO CRIME AND NO MURDER IN DC!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “When it is like that in Baltimore, I will proudly ‘walk the streets’ with the failing, because of crime, governor of Maryland.”
Governor Moore responded firmly, emphasizing Maryland’s progress in reducing crime without resorting to militarized policing. He stated, “If there’s anything Maryland has proven over the last two years, it’s that we can achieve performance without being performative. 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.” Moore has also vowed to refuse authorization for National Guard deployment for crime-fighting purposes in Baltimore, aligning with a broader resistance from Democratic-led states against what they see as the federalization of local law enforcement and military forces.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott joined the criticism, asserting the city does not require National Guard assistance but rather more federal law enforcement support integrated with local police. “We know that the National Guard is not the way,” Scott asserted. He praised Baltimore’s Gun Violence Reduction Strategy as instrumental in the ongoing decline in violent crime.
The controversy deepened as Trump warned he might withhold federal funding for infrastructure projects such as the Key Bridge repairs if Maryland does not cooperate with his law enforcement initiatives. He has suggested leveraging Department of Transportation and FEMA disaster relief funds to pressure Democratic governors to comply with troop deployments.
Governor Moore dismissed these threats as political maneuvering and urged the president to focus on broader issues affecting Maryland residents, including economic inflation, immigration policy impacts on local jobs, and health care for veterans and seniors. Moore also confronted accusations from Trump questioning his military service record, clarifying that the award of his Bronze Star was a recognized honor with no deception involved.
This latest episode marks an intensifying clash between the Trump administration’s aggressive approach to urban crime and Democratic leaders’ defense of local governance and civil rights. Legal experts note that deploying the National Guard without state authorization could face significant constitutional challenges, especially in Democratic-led states resistant to federal intervention.
The prospect of expanding National Guard deployments to cities like Baltimore, Chicago, and New York has sparked widespread debate over the appropriate balance between public safety, civil liberties, and federal versus state authority.