From crime to trade: Trump, Moore Trade blows on crime and the bridge of money

What started as a war of words on Baltimore crime between the governor of Maryland Wes Moore and the President Donald Trump is now transformed into a combat in high challenges.

Federal funding from the Pont de Francis Scott Key, which was destroyed in March 2024 when a container lost energy and slammed it, has become the new flash point.

Trump says he could send the National Guard to Maryland to fight crime

On Sunday, Trump raised in a social post of truth the possibility of revoking the financing of the bridge and even deploying the National Guard to solve the problem of the crime of the city: “I gave Wes Moore a lot of money to repair his demolished bridge. I will now have to rethink this decision.”

The revelation came in the heels of the Tit-For-Tat beards exchanged by Moore and Trump on Baltimore crime rates.

An aerial view of the remains of the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, on August 7, 2025. The bridge collapsed in March 2024 after a container ship struck one of its batteries. (Jim Watson / AFP / Getty images)

Moore argues that the prospect of retaining these dollars threatens to derail the critical infrastructure projects linked to the port of Baltimore, injecting uncertainty in the efforts on which companies, unions and federal agencies count so that the goods move in one of the most frequented shipping centers of the East coast.

The new bridge, which is at the entrance to the port of Baltimore, is expected to cost around $ 1.9 billion. Without federal dollars, Maryland would find it difficult to cover these cost and construction deadlines could pass the target completion in 2028, extending the disturbances for shuttle, truckers and expedition.

Baltimore Key Bridge collapsed: the cargo cargo that caused a disaster had 2 power outages before departure

The port of Baltimore is a economical engine This supports more than 20,000 jobs, underpins operations of more than 900 companies and manages around $ 7 billion in commerce. Although the port manages a relatively modest part of American trade, almost 5% of imports and just over 3% of exports, it is essential for certain goods.

The port is a key bridge for heavy machines like bulldozers and tractors, and for critical metals and coal. In fact, it manages almost all imports in American tin and more than a third of its nickel, both essential for electronics, steel and batteries, according to to The Peterson Institute for International Economics. With most of his sound trade Has linked to Europe and Asia, this port also serves as a crucial link in international supply chains.

The Dali container ship is seen in the wreck of Francis Scott Key Bridge almost a week after hitting a structural pier, causing a collapse of the subsequent bridge on April 1, 2024. (Jerry Jackson / The Baltimore Sun / Tribune News Service / Getty Images)

“The attack of President Trump threatens this bipartite agreement which is a victory for port workers, vathers, small businesses, service members and workers’ families across America and through America. Any threat to this funding will lead to irrevocable damage to the national economy and the whole state of Maryland,” Moore spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

The spokesman added that reconstruction is already underway: “We have already started to rebuild, and now that Maryland shows great progress, our president threatens to harm Maryland intentionally. We will continue to advance the steam from the front because we know how vital this bridge is for the whole nation.”

Maryland Wes Moore governor tackles a commemoration ceremony on the birthday of the Francis Scott Key Bridge disaster on March 26, 2025 in Dundalk, Maryland. (SOMODEVILLA / GETTY Images)

Trump, on the other hand, degenerated the quarrel on Sunday after having bristled Moore’s invitation to join a public security march in Baltimore.

“As president, I prefer to clean this crime disaster before going there for a walk,” wrote Trump in a social article of truth. He accused Moore of having a bad file on the crime “unless he does his figures on crime like many other blue states.”

Trump added that he had not appreciated the tone of Moore’s invitation.

“But if Wes Moore needs help, as Gavin Newscum did in Los Angeles, I will send the” troops “, what is done in DC nearby and quickly clean the crime,” Trump wrote. He added that Baltimore ranks among the worst United States cities for crime and murder.

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Moore’s office retaliated, renewing calls to Trump to visit Baltimore in person. “He is a president who prefers to attack the largest cities in his country behind an office than to walk in the streets with the people he represents,” said a spokesperson, adding that “happy ignorance, tropes and tactics frightened by Trump do not benefit anyone”. A Moore spokesperson, added that the city had recorded its lowest homicide level in 50 years.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration has deployed a plan to make Washington, DC, “safer and more beautiful” while its double administration on efforts to fight crime and a growing homeless population in the national capital.

Trump said that he would approach crime in other major American cities, describing DC as a “hell hole” before federal police and more than 2,200 National guard The members were mobilized to patrol the streets of the city. “Now for sure,” said the president one day after visiting the troops deployed in the capital.

American lawyer Jeanine Pirro said on Monday that 1,007 arrests at DC had been carried out so far.