Maryland Gov. Moore criticizes President Trump's National Guard plan as "deeply dangerous"

In an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore called President Trump's plan to deploy the National Guard in Washington, D.C. for municipal policing "deeply dangerous," warning it risks turning citizen soldiers into political tools.

"I'm embarrassed, I'm angered, and frankly, I'm heartbroken for the members of the National Guard who are asked to take on this mission," Moore said about Mr. Trump's decision to deploy National Guard troops in D.C.

Mr. Trump announced Monday that he would deploy 800 members of the D.C. National Guard to the District of Columbia as part of a push to crack down on local crime. He also singled out Baltimore and other major cities for what he described as rising violent crime.

Baltimore mayor refutes Trump's crime claims

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott pushed back Monday against Trump's characterization of the city as "so far gone" on crime, saying Baltimore is experiencing its safest period in more than 50 years.

He has repeatedly pointed to data showing that violent crime is at a decades-long low.

"Baltimore has 84 homicides, which is one too many for me, but it's still the lowest number we've had at this point of the year on record," Scott said at a National Night Out event last week.

He acknowledged that challenges remain, but said the progress should not be ignored.

Maryland Gov. Moore responds to National Guard deployment

Moore told CNN that he would not authorize the use of the Maryland National Guard for missions that are not "mission-critical or mission aligned."

"What we're seeing right now is distracting away from the fact that Donald Trump's policies have caused unemployment to go up, have caused people to lose their health care, has caused children to be able to lose their food benefits," Moore said. "He's now using this as a tool. He's using military personnel, these citizen soldiers, as a cudgel to advance his political purposes."

On Monday, Mr. Trump said the purpose of the National Guard deployment was to "help reestablish law, order and public safety in D.C."

In a statement, the Army said the National Guard would be assisting law enforcement in D.C., with 100 to 200 soldiers supporting law enforcement at any given time on an "array of tasks, from administrative, logistics and physical presence." 

But Moore says Mr. Trump should look to Maryland for an example of crime reduction being done properly.  

"He just needs to look at what we've done in the state of Maryland over the past two and a half years, where, when I first became the governor in 2022, Baltimore was averaging almost a murder a day. Now the homicide rate in Baltimore is nearly a 50-year low, and we have watched how the state of Maryland has essentially helped to lead the country in jobs, in violent crime, in drops in non-fatal shootings, in drops in carjackings," Moore said.

Moore added that his approach is influenced by personal experiences.

"I'm a governor who had handcuffs on my wrist by the time I was 11 years old," Moore said. "I'm a governor who watched my immigrant, single mother, raise us after my father died in front of me when I was three. That I was a person who joined the military when I was 17 years old, after getting sent away to military school when I was just becoming a teenager."

Moore also said that Maryland is aiming to create options for youth to reduce their likelihood of becoming perpetrators or victims of violence.