Aug. 24 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump on Sunday offered to send "troops" to clean up crime in Baltimore after he and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore traded jabs at each other on social media.
The suggestion to send troops to Baltimore, about 40 miles northeast of Washington, D.C., came weeks after Trump deployed the National Guard to the capital to increase patrols and crack down on crime.
While speaking about the Washington deployment on Aug. 11, Trump also called attention to crime in Baltimore and other cities.
"We have other cities also that are bad, very bad," the president said during a news briefing at the White House. "You look at Chicago, how bad it is, you look at Los Angeles, how bad it is, other cities that are very bad, New York is a problem, and then you have, of course, Baltimore and Oakland -- you don't even mention that anymore, they're so far gone."
On Friday, Trump said he'll next target crime in Chicago and New York City.
In 2024, Baltimore had the fifth-highest rate of gun homicides among major U.S. cities with 30.4 deaths per 100,000 people behind Birmingham, Ala.; St. Louis; Memphis, Tenn.; and Portsmouth, Va. Meanwhile, Washington, D.C. had 31.7 gun homicides per 100,000 people, putting it at the 15th highest, according to research by Everytown for Gun Safety.
In response to the Aug. 11 comments about Baltimore, Moore sent a letter to Trump accusing the president of insulting him personally. In the letter, the governor issued an invitation for Trump "to visit Maryland, where we can discuss strategies for effective public safety policy."
He also cited statistics indicating homicides have decreased in the state since he took office in 2023. According to Everytown for Gun Safety, gun homicides in Baltimore decreased by 15% from 2023 to 2024.
"I would like to formally invite you to attend our next public safety walk in September, at a date of your choosing," Moore wrote.
"In Maryland and in Baltimore, you will find people who share the same commitment to public safety that I have and who want to be part of the solution, not the problem."
In a post on Truth Social on Sunday, Trump accused Moore of using "a rather nasty and provocative tone" in his letter.
"As president, I would much prefer that he clean up this crime disaster before I go there for a 'walk,'" Trump wrote.
"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 responded in his own post on X, accusing Trump of "spouting off more lies about the progress we're making on public safety in Maryland."
The last time the National Guard was deployed in Baltimore was in April 2015 amid protests over the police killing of Freddie Gray.
Trump lauded his administration's efforts in the capital, saying there was "NO CRIME AND NO MURDER IN DC!"
While there have been reports of homicide in the city over the past week, there were 79 incidents of violent crime -- including assault with a dangerous weapon -- and 579 reports of property crime, according to Metropolitan Police Department data.
In the past 12 months, there has been an 8% decrease in overall crime in the capital compared to the same time period a year prior, with a nearly 27% drop in homicides.
Residents keep with their normal routine and run past National Guard troops on the National Mall near the Washington Monument on August 12, 2025. Photo by Pat Benic/UPI | License Photo 
