Tempers have flared between President Donald Trump and Maryland Governor Wes Moore over the fate of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge and the city’s ongoing struggle with crime, culminating in a heated exchange that has spilled into the national spotlight. The dispute comes just over a year after the catastrophic collapse of the Key Bridge in March 2024, a tragedy that claimed six lives and left a critical artery of Baltimore’s infrastructure in ruins.
On August 24, 2025, President Trump took to his Truth Social platform to threaten a reconsideration of federal funds allocated for the bridge’s reconstruction. "I gave Wes Moore a lot of money to fix his demolished bridge. I will now have to rethink that decision???" Trump wrote, referencing the massive sums required to replace the bridge, which is projected to cost up to $1.9 billion and won’t be completed until 2028. The demolition of the wrecked structure is still ongoing, and for Baltimore, the bridge’s absence remains a daily reminder of both human loss and logistical hardship.
Trump’s comments were prompted by an invitation from Governor Moore, sent on August 21, 2025, asking the president to join him for a public safety walk through Baltimore in September. Moore’s letter, and his pointed remarks at a public event—"Donald Trump, if you are not willing to walk our communities, keep our name out of your mouth"—challenged the president’s repeated portrayal of Baltimore as "out of control" and "crime ridden." Trump, in turn, dismissed Moore’s overture, writing, "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.’"
Trump’s rhetoric did not stop there. He threatened to deploy the National Guard to Baltimore, as he had done in Washington, D.C. earlier in August and Los Angeles in June, claiming, "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. 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."
The president’s depiction of Baltimore as a city in crisis is not new. He has previously singled out Baltimore among "blue cities" targeted for federal crackdowns, with Chicago and New York also named as likely candidates for National Guard deployments. Baltimore was recently ranked the fourth most dangerous city in the nation by a U.S. News and World Report poll, a statistic Trump has wielded to justify his hardline stance.
Yet, the numbers tell a more nuanced story. Governor Moore, in his invitation to Trump, highlighted that homicides in Maryland have dropped by 20% statewide since he took office in 2023. According to Baltimore Police Department data released in July 2025, the city saw a 22% decrease in homicides and a 19% decrease in non-fatal shootings in the first half of 2025 compared to the previous year. The Council on Criminal Justice reported an even more dramatic trend: Baltimore’s homicide rate has fallen by 40% from 2019 to 2024, with auto theft down by 34% in 2025. Moore’s office has emphasized these improvements as evidence that the city is making progress, even as challenges remain.
Trump, however, has accused Moore of manipulating crime statistics, echoing similar allegations he and the chairman of the capital’s police union have leveled against Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department. The Department of Justice is now investigating whether crime numbers in the capital have been altered. Meanwhile, the president’s claims of a crime-free Washington after National Guard deployment have been met with skepticism from local officials and independent analysts alike.
The bridge funding dispute has only deepened the rift. While Trump claims credit for providing substantial aid to Baltimore, the initial $60 million in emergency funds following the disaster came from former President Joe Biden’s administration. A stopgap spending bill passed in December 2024 authorized federal funds to cover the replacement’s full cost. Moore, for his part, has accused Trump of using federal resources as a political cudgel. In July 2025, Trump denied Maryland’s request for FEMA aid after severe flooding in Allegany and Garrett counties, marking the first time a Maryland governor’s disaster request had been turned down by the federal government. "Never before has a Maryland governor put in a request for disaster and been turned down by the federal government, until now," Moore told WUSA9. He described the decision as "petty" and "partisan," suggesting that Maryland’s lack of support for Trump in the last election played a role.
The back-and-forth has not been limited to policy. Trump has also revived a controversy over Moore’s military record, questioning whether the governor lied about receiving a Bronze Star medal. The issue stems from a 2006 White House fellowship application in which Moore claimed he had received the accolade, despite no Army records at the time. Moore was eventually awarded the medal in late 2024, a move he described as correcting an "honest mistake." Trump’s insinuations, however, have continued to shadow the governor’s public appearances.
Moore has responded to Trump’s attacks with a mix of frustration and resolve. On CBS Face The Nation, he dismissed the president’s rhetoric as "1980s scare tactics" and accused Trump of trafficking in outdated tropes. "He seems to enjoy living in this blissful ignorance," Moore said, underscoring his belief that the president’s approach to Baltimore is more about politics than policy.
For Baltimore, the stakes are tangible and immediate. The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge has disrupted commerce and daily life, with the shipping channel only recently reopened. The prospect of losing or delaying federal funds for the new bridge is a source of anxiety for city leaders and residents alike. The bridge’s replacement is not just a matter of local pride—it is a vital link in the region’s transportation network, and its absence continues to affect thousands of commuters and businesses.
As the demolition of the old bridge drags on and the timeline for the new span stretches into the latter part of the decade, the city’s leaders are keenly aware that political infighting in Washington could have real-world consequences for their recovery. The ongoing war of words between Trump and Moore, while dramatic, is ultimately a sideshow to the urgent task of rebuilding a city still reeling from disaster.
Amid all this, Baltimore’s story remains one of resilience in the face of adversity. The city’s progress on crime, though hard-won and incomplete, is a testament to the efforts of local officials, police, and community leaders. Whether that progress will be enough to overcome the headwinds of political brinkmanship remains to be seen, but for now, Baltimore presses on—bridge or no bridge, with or without the president’s blessing.
