Wes Moore says Trump's rhetoric on crime is "purely performative"

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Washington — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said Sunday that President Trump's rhetoric connected transgression is "purely performative" arsenic the president has offered to nonstop troops to Baltimore amid a propulsion to ace down connected transgression that began successful the nation's capital successful caller weeks and could widen to different large cities.

"While the President is spending his clip from the Oval Office making jabs and attacks astatine us, determination are radical really connected the crushed doing the enactment who cognize what supports would really enactment to proceed to bring down crime. But it's falling connected deaf ears of the president of the United States," Moore said connected "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan."

Mr. Trump moved to federalize the District of Columbia's Metropolitan Police Department earlier this period and deployed the National Guard to the territory to assistance instrumentality enforcement, contempt information showing transgression has declined successful the metropolis successful caller years.

Upon announcing the moves, the president outlined that the effort "will spell further," saying the medication is "starting precise powerfully with D.C." and suggesting it could past determination to different cities, though the president has unsocial authorization implicit the D.C. National Guard due to the fact that the territory is controlled by the national government. He referenced transgression rates successful Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Baltimore and Oakland.

Last week, Moore, a Democrat, sent a missive to Mr. Trump inviting him to be a nationalist information locomotion successful Maryland, portion touting the state's investments successful section instrumentality enforcement and different efforts to code transgression nether his administration. In 2025, Baltimore has seen a 22% decrease successful homicides from past year, according to the Baltimore Police Department.

The politician said Sunday that "the crushed that I asked the president to travel and articulation america is due to the fact that helium seems to bask surviving successful this blissful ignorance, these tropes and these 1980s scare tactics."

"We cognize we person enactment to do," Moore said. "If 1 idiosyncratic does not consciousness harmless successful their neighborhood, that's 1 excessively many. But we besides cognize what tactics really work, and what tactics is conscionable theatrics."

Moore's quality connected "Face the Nation" came soon aft Mr. Trump took purpose astatine the politician connected Truth Social Sunday morning, responding to the mayor's petition by saying, "As President, I would overmuch similar that helium cleanable up this Crime catastrophe earlier I spell determination for a 'walk.'"

Although Mr. Trump dismissed Moore's suggestion, helium said past week that helium would beryllium joining national authorities successful D.C. "on patrol." He instead visited a U.S. Park Police facility successful Southeast D.C.

"Wes Moore's grounds connected Crime is simply a precise atrocious one, unless helium fudges his figures connected transgression similar galore of the different 'Blue States' are doing," the president added. "But if Wes Moore needs help, similar Gavin Newscum did successful L.A., I volition nonstop successful the 'troops,' which is being done successful adjacent DC, and rapidly cleanable up the Crime."

The propulsion successful D.C. followed the president's determination to deploy the National Guard successful Los Angeles successful June amid heated protests implicit migration raids, prompting a suit from the California governor, who did not o.k. of the usage of his state's Guard forces and called it an amerciable "power grab." Mr. Trump and Newsom's sparring has escalated arsenic Newsom's nationalist illustration arsenic a imaginable 2028 campaigner has grown.

Moore said Sunday that the cognition successful D.C. is "not scalable," saying "you're not going to beryllium capable to bash this successful each azygous large American city." He besides argued that the crackdown connected transgression successful the territory is "not sustainable," "deeply disrespectful" to the National Guard, and "unconstitutional."

"There is simply a multitude of reasons that I americium against this, and I volition not authorize the Maryland National Guard to beryllium utilized for this," Moore added.

The Maryland politician acknowledged that transgression indispensable beryllium addressed, portion recalling the aftermath of a wide shooting successful Baltimore aboriginal successful his tenure arsenic governor.

"I said astatine that point, 'I garbage to proceed doing this and not putting the due resources successful place, and not being capable to enactment a existent absorption connected making our communities safer,'" Moore said. "And that's wherefore it is truthful frustrating erstwhile we're proceeding from the president of the United States thing that is conscionable purely performative, without really focusing connected these communities and these neighborhoods who judge that advancement is possible."

Kaia Hubbard

Kaia Hubbard is simply a authorities newsman for CBS News Digital, based successful Washington, D.C.

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