Baltimore Mayor Scott rebuts President Trump's remarks on crime in the city, cites record-low violence

In a rebuttal Monday, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott dismissed President Trump's description of the city as "so far gone" on crime, saying Baltimore is experiencing its safest period in more than 50 years.

Mr. Trump made the comment about Baltimore during a Monday morning press conference after announcing that he was deploying the National Guard to Washington, D.C., and that the federal government had taken control of the Washington, D.C. police department, in what he called a "historic action to rescue our nation's capital from crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor and worse." 

He went on to cite Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Baltimore and Oakland as cities facing serious crime problems — adding that Baltimore and Oakland are "so far gone" that "we don't even mention [them] anymore."  

Mr. Trump's push to crack down on crime in D.C. comes after a former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer was allegedly assaulted in the city earlier this month. 

After the alleged incident, Mr. Trump said in a Truth Social post that he would "federalize" Washington, D.C. if the city did not "get its act together, and quickly."

Baltimore mayor points to record-low crime rates

Scott, who announced earlier this month that Baltimore's violent crime rate is at its lowest in decades, responded in a social media post Monday afternoon.

"This is the latest effort by the president to distract from the issues he should be focused on — including the roller coaster of the U.S. economy thanks to his policies," Scott wrote. "When it comes to public safety in Baltimore, he should turn off the right-wing propaganda and look at the facts. Baltimore is the safest it's been in over 50 years. Homicides are down 28% this year alone, reaching the lowest level of any year on record."

Baltimore police reported on Aug. 1 that the number of juveniles killed in the first half of 2025 was the lowest in more than a decade. Homicides were down 24.3% and nonfatal shootings had dropped 19.5% compared with the same period in 2024.

Mayor acknowledges work still to be done

At a National Night Out event last week, Scott acknowledged the city still faces challenges.

"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," he said.

Scott credited the city's Group Violence Reduction Strategy, which recently expanded to South Baltimore, with much of the improvement.

Some residents remain skeptical. Mark Cannon, who works with We Are Us, a community engagement group, said he still sees young people getting involved in crime at an early age.

"Statistics is statistics, but we're real life," Cannon said. "You got to have resources, and you got to have consequences."

Some neighborhoods, including Federal Hill, have recently reported increases in crime.

Trump has criticized Baltimore before

Trump has criticized Baltimore before.

In March, during the signing of an executive order to initiate the dismantling of the Department of Education, he said, "In Baltimore, 40% of the high schools have zero students who can do basic mathematics, not even the very simplest of mathematics."

According to The Baltimore Banner, Mr. Trump was referring to the students' performances on Maryland's Algebra I test, which covers far more than basic math, but also tests students ' knowledge of functions and systems of equations, among other materials. 

Scott responded to those remarks at the time, defending progress made by Baltimore City students.

"Here is some math for those who are all of a sudden mathematicians. Baltimore City math scores increased 5x the rate of statewide math scores last year," Scott said. "Yet, we aren't celebrating because we have much more work to do. Maybe the administration should help instead of treating the Department of Education like the WWE Royal Rumble."

Maryland leaders respond to National Guard deployment

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore issued a statement Monday, saying Mr. Trump's decision to deploy the National Guard  "lacks seriousness," and is "deeply dangerous."

"These actions by the president lack both data and a battle plan. He is simply using honorable men and women as pawns to distract us from his policies, which continue to drive up unemployment and strip away health care and food assistance from those who need it most," Moore said in part.

Moore added that if Mr. Trump wanted to "have a serious conversation about how to reduce violent crime," he should look at Maryland's crime drops. 

"We've achieved among the most impressive drops in violent crime anywhere in the country over the past two and a half years, and according to the most current data, homicides are down by more than 20% statewide since our inauguration," Moore said.