Trump threatens to deploy troops to Democratic-run Baltimore to ‘clean up’ crime

Trump’s pledge to ramp-up the military’s presence in left-leaning cities comes as National Guard troops deployed in Washington DC would start carrying weapons from Sunday night onwards.

By: Express Web Desk

August 25, 2025 06:11 AM IST

2 min read

Armed members of the South Carolina National Guard talk with a man while positioned outside of Union Station in Washington. (AP Photo)

US President Donald Trump has threatened to deploy troops to Baltimore, after escalating a clash with Democratic Governor Wes Moore of Maryland, who invited the US president to join a “safety walk” in the city. Trump has already deployed National Guard troops in Washington DC and in Los Angeles in June despite protest from local and state leaders.

Trump’s pledge to ramp-up the military’s presence in left-leaning cities comes as National Guard troops deployed in Washington DC would start carrying weapons from Sunday night onwards, following a directive issued on Friday by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore recently criticised President Trump over his unprecedented exertion of presidential powers to combat crime and homelessness in the nation’s capital. Moore invited Trump to his state last week to discuss public safety and walk the streets.

“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,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

The remarks have triggered a clash between the two leaders as the US president continues with his efforts to deploy National Guards to Democratic-led cities as part of what he calls a crackdown on crime.

US media reports suggest that about 1,700 National Guards personnel are expected to be mobilised in 19 states in the coming weeks. A frequent critic of President Trump, Governor Moore said the Republican leader’s comments about fighting crime “come off as so, so tone deaf and so ignorant”.

“It’s because they have not walked our streets. They have not been in our communities, and they are more than happy to keep making these repeated tropes about us,” Moore said.

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Baltimore’s violent crime rate has plunged after seeing a spike during the pandemic that matched nationwide trends. As per the city data, 200 homicides were reported in 2024 which is down by 24% from the prior year and 42% since 2021.

(with inputs from BBC, AP)

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