President Donald Trump lashed out at Maryland Governor Wes Moore after Moore said he may redistrict his state to eliminate its one Republican-held House seat, threatening to take back federal funds to repair Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge following its March 2024 collapse.
The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge occurred when a container ship struck the structure, causing it to crumble like a house of cards into the Patapsco River. The tragic event resulted in the deaths of six individuals who were working on the bridge at the time and led to the closure of one of the nation's busiest ports.
While the shipping channel has since reopened, demolition of the collapsed bridge continues, and its replacement—expected to cost up to $1.9 billion—is not slated for completion until 2028.
And Trump doesn't have any federal funds to take away: The Biden administration released $60 million in emergency funds days after the disaster, and a stopgap spending bill passed in December, before Trump took office again, authorized federal funding for the full replacement.
Moore's comments on redistricting came as Republicans go on the offensive now that California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a sweeping redistricting proposal to redraw the state’s congressional boundaries, creating five new Democratic-leaning U.S. House seats in what he described as a direct response to Republican-led gerrymandering in Texas backed by Trump.
He said the following in an interview on Face the Nation:
"I think we have to, and this is what people hate about politics in the first place, the fact that the president of the United States, very similar to what he did in Georgia, where he called up a series of voter registrants and said, 'I need you to find me more votes.'"
"We're watching the same thing now where he's calling up legislatures around the country and saying, 'I need you to find me more congressional districts.' ... I want to make sure that we have fair lines and fair seats, where we don't have situations where politicians are choosing voters but where voters actually have a chance to choose their elected officials."
"We need to be able to have fair maps and we also need to make sure that if the president of the United States is putting his finger on the scale to manipulate elections because he knows that his policies cannot win at a ballot box then it behooves each and every one of us to keep all options on the table to ensure the voters' voices can actually be heard."
When asked about whether the voters in Maryland's lone Republican district feel represented, Moore said that congressional maps across the country indicate "that less than 10% of congressional seats are competitive by nature," adding:
"If you look at the average win margin in our state and other states ... is upwards to 20 to 30%. That means that we already have so many gerrymandered areas that we have to be able to add a measure of fairness in the way they're applied so yes, all options need to be on the table in the state of Maryland."
You can hear what Moore said in the video below.
A furious Trump responded shortly afterward, referencing Moore's invitation for Trump to “come walk the streets with us" and see that crime rates are nothing like what Trump has personally claimed in justifying his recent deployment of troops to Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles:
"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.'”
"Wes Moore's record on Crime is a very bad one, unless he fudges his figures on crime like many of the other 'Blue States' are doing. But if Wes Moore needs help, like Gavin Newscum did in L.A., I will send in the 'troops,' which is being done in 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. P.S. Baltimore is ranked the 4th WORST CITY IN THE NATION IN CRIME & MURDER. Stop talking and get to work, Wes. I’ll then see you on the streets!!!”
Trump then issued his hollow threat to take away funds for the repair of the Francis Scott Key Bridge:
"Also, I gave Wes Moore a lot of money to fix his demolished bridge. I will now have to rethink that decision??? Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
You can see Trump's post below.
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
Trump was soundly criticized.
National Guard troops remain stationed across Washington, with federal agents continuing to patrol city streets.
On Friday, Trump signaled he wants to expand the effort to other Democratic-led cities, though legal limits on Guard deployments could complicate that plan.
Moore, like other Democratic governors, has said he will not authorize sending Guard troops to fight crime in Baltimore. But Trump's attack suggested he may try to leverage Department of Transportation and FEMA disaster relief funding to pressure governors into cooperating.
@mmpadellan/X
