Maryland leaders tell Trump they don't need the National Guard to curb gun violence

BALTIMORE (AP) — In a pointed show of solidarity against President Donald Trump, state and local leaders walked through one of Baltimore’s most historically underserved neighborhoods Friday evening amid ongoing efforts to curb gun violence.

Those efforts are working, Gov. Wes Moore said. Homicides in Baltimore have reached historic lows with sustained declines starting in 2023. He said the last thing Baltimore needs is the National Guard presence Trump has threatened.

“We do not need occupiers,” Moore said to a crowd of law enforcement officers, anti-violence advocates, local clergy and other community leaders who gathered in northwest Baltimore’s Park Heights neighborhood.

Moore wrote a letter to the president last month inviting him to visit Baltimore and see its recent success firsthand. Officials attribute the progress to their crime-fighting strategies, which include social services meant to address the root causes of violence.

In an escalating feud over public safety, Trump responded to the invitation by calling Baltimore “a horrible, horrible deathbed” and insulting Maryland leaders.

“I’m not walking in Baltimore right now,” he said.

His refusal prompted state and local leaders to present a strongly united front.

Moore, a U.S. Army veteran, criticized Trump for using National Guard members to send a political message in a “purely theatrical” show of force.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott joined the governor Friday in his childhood home of Park Heights. The sprawling majority-Black community in northwest Baltimore has suffered from decades of disinvestment, but Scott has made a point of investing in its future. Park Heights once boasted a thriving economy and picturesque tree-lined streets surrounding the historic Pimlico Race Course. But white flight and other factors led to increased rates of poverty, violence and economic decline.

As the group started walking, they chanted: “We all we got, we all we need.” They passed a dollar store and other rundown businesses. They turned down a residential street where people waved from the porches of brick rowhomes.

Kevin Myers, a longtime Park Heights resident, was climbing into his truck when the group passed. He said Baltimore leaders are making him proud.

“Let Trump know you can handle Baltimore,” he yelled to the mayor, who smiled widely in response.

Another man briefly heckled the group, saying the event was just a media stunt, not proof that elected officials are truly committed to helping the community.

Scott has repeatedly accused Trump of using racist rhetoric and targeting Black-led cities with his promises to deploy National Guard troops. In remarks after the walk, he urged Baltimore residents to push back against that rhetoric.

“Do not shrink. Stand up in the moment,” he said. “So a hundred years from now … they will know that you stood up to fascism, that you stood up to racism, that you stood up to folks who were trying to destroy your democracy.”

Earlier this week, the president renewed his threats to send National Guard troops to Baltimore, though he appeared more focused on Chicago. He has already sent troops into Los Angeles and Washington, where he has also federalized the police force. He has said he plans similar moves in other Democrat-run cities even as a federal judge on Tuesday deemed the California deployment illegal.

This isn’t the first time Trump has taken aim at Baltimore. He previously called the city a “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess.” Those comments came amid the president’s attacks on Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings, whose district included Baltimore until his death in 2019.

In his letter to the president, Maryland’s governor noted recent cuts to federal funding for violence intervention programs. He asked Trump to “be part of the solution, not the problem.”

Homicides and shootings in Baltimore have plummeted over the past two years. The city recorded 201 homicides in 2024, the lowest annual total in over a decade and a 23% drop from the previous year. The downward trend has continued throughout 2025, including the lowest number of homicides on record for the month of August. It is a relief for Baltimore, where violence surged following the 2015 in-custody death of Freddie Gray and subsequent protests against police brutality.

While Baltimore’s numbers are especially dramatic, other cities are also seeing post-pandemic declines in violence.

Baltimore officials say that is because they are taking a holistic approach to public safety, instead of relying solely on law enforcement. The city is investing in historically neglected communities to help address the myriad factors that perpetuate cycles of gun violence: hopelessness, joblessness, poverty, mental health, substance abuse, housing instability, poor conflict resolution and more.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, right, shakes hands with Baltimore mayor Brandon Scott, left, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore speaks during a news conference, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, center, speaks next to Baltimore mayor Brandon Scott, left center, during a news conference, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, right, hugs Baltimore mayor Brandon Scott, left, at a news conference, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Baltimore mayor Brandon Scott, center, speaks next to Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, right, during a news conference, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, right, speaks next to Baltimore mayor Brandon Scott, left, during a news conference, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, right, speaks next to Baltimore mayor Brandon Scott, left, during a news conference, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Several Middle Eastern allies of the United States have urged the Trump administration to hold off on strikes against Iran for the government’s deadly crackdown on protesters, according to an Arab diplomat familiar with the matter.

Top officials from Egypt, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have raised concerns in the last 48 hours that a U.S. military intervention would shake the global economy and destabilize an already volatile region, said the diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the sensitive conversations.

Oil prices fell Thursday as the markets appeared to take note of President Donald Trump’s shifting tone as a sign that he’s leaning away from attacking Iran after days of launching blistering threats at Tehran for its brutal crackdown.

Nevertheless, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday maintained that “all options remain on the table” for Trump as he deals with Iran.

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The White House and a bipartisan group of governors are pressuring the operator of the mid-Atlantic power grid to take urgent steps to boost energy supply and curb price hikes, holding a Friday event aimed at addressing a rising concern among voters about the enormous amount of power used for artificial intelligence ahead of elections later this year.

The White House said its National Energy Dominance Council and the governors of several states, including Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia, want to try to compel PJM Interconnection to hold a power auction for tech companies to bid on contracts to build new power plants.

The Trump administration and governors will sign a statement of principles toward that end Friday.

▶ Read more about the administration and AI-driven power shortages

The Justice Department’s investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has brought heightened attention to a key drama that will play out at the central bank in the coming months: Will Powell leave the Fed when his term as chair ends, or will he take the unusual step of remaining a governor?

Powell’s term as Fed chair ends May 15, but because of the central bank’s complex structure, he has a separate term as one of seven members of its governing board that lasts until January 31, 2028. Historically, nearly all Fed chairs have stepped down from the board when they’re no longer chair. But Powell could be the first in nearly 50 years to stay on as a governor.

Many Fed-watchers believe the criminal investigation into Powell’s testimony about cost overruns for Fed building renovations was intended to intimidate him out of taking that step. If Powell stays on the board, it would deny the White House a chance to gain a majority, undercutting the Trump administration’s efforts to seize greater control over what has for decades been an institution largely insulated from day-to-day politics.

▶ Read more about Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell

Trump on Thursday announced the outlines of a health care plan he wants Congress to take up as Republicans have faced increasing pressure to address rising health costs after lawmakers let subsidies expire.

The cornerstone is his proposal to send money directly to Americans for health savings accounts so they can handle insurance and health costs as they see fit. Democrats have rejected the idea as a paltry substitute for the tax credits that had helped lower monthly premiums for many people.

Trump’s plan also focuses on lowering drug prices and requiring insurers to be more upfront with the public about costs, revenues, rejected claims and wait times for care.

Trump has long been dogged by his lack of a comprehensive health care plan as he and Republicans have sought to unwind former President Barack Obama’s signature legislation, the Affordable Care Act. Trump was thwarted during his first term in trying to repeal and replace the law.

▶ Read more about Trump’s health care plan

Most American presidents aspire to the kind of greatness that prompts future generations to name important things in their honor.

Donald Trump isn’t leaving it to future generations.

As the first year of his second term wraps up, his Republican administration and allies have put his name on the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Kennedy Center performing arts venue and a new class of battleships.

That’s on top of the “Trump Accounts” for tax-deferred investments, the TrumpRx government website soon to offer direct sales of prescription drugs, the “Trump Gold Card” visa that costs at least $1 million and the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, a transit corridor included in a deal his administration brokered between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

On Friday, he plans to attend a ceremony in Florida where local officials will dedicate a 4-mile (6-kilometer) stretch of road from the airport to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach as President Donald J. Trump Boulevard.

▶ Read more about Trump’s renaming efforts

Nearly a year into his second term, Trump’s work on the economy hasn’t lived up to the expectations of many people in his own party, according to a new AP-NORC survey.

The poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds a significant gap between the economic leadership Americans remembered from Trump’s first term and what they’ve gotten so far as he creates a stunning level of turmoil at home and abroad.

Just 16% of Republicans say Trump has helped “a lot” in addressing the cost of living, down from 49% in April 2024, when an AP-NORC poll asked Americans the same question about his first term.

At the same time, Republicans are overwhelmingly supportive of the president’s leadership on immigration — even if some don’t like his tactics.

There is little sign overall, though, that the Republican base is abandoning Trump. The vast majority of Republicans, about 8 in 10, approve of his job performance, compared with 4 in 10 for adults overall.

▶ Read more about the poll’s findings

Several Middle Eastern allies of the United States have urged the Trump administration to hold off on strikes against Iran for the government’s deadly crackdown on protesters, according to an Arab diplomat familiar with the matter.

Top officials from Egypt, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have raised concerns in the last 48 hours that a U.S. military intervention would shake the global economy and destabilize an already volatile region, said the diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the sensitive conversations.

Oil prices fell on Thursday as the markets appeared to take note of President Donald Trump’s shifting tone as a sign that he’s leaning away from attacking Iran after days of launching blistering threats at Tehran for its brutal crackdown.

Nevertheless, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday maintained that “all options remain on the table” for Trump as he deals with Iran.

▶ Read more about Trump and Iran

— Matthew Lee, Aamer Madhani and Ben Finley

President Donald Trump speaks during an event to honor the 2025 Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)