Donald Trump has fallen out with many governors during his tenure as president. He seemingly suggested that he had turned a corner when he claimed that Governor Wes Moore had pulled him aside and called him the “greatest president of my lifetime,” but after the story finally reached Moore, it seems the two leaders remember events differently.
Moore and Trump reportedly met at the Navy-Army football game. The Hill reports that Trump was quite pleased about their meeting there. This was somewhat surprising considering that after Trump sent National Guard troops to Los Angeles and then Washington, D.C., he soon set his sights on Baltimore.
Trump told reporters at the Oval Office that he saw Moore at the game, reached out for a hug, and shook his hand. Trump then added that Moore told him, “You’re the greatest president of my lifetime.” Moore saw the post circulating on X with many reactions, questioning how different it was from his usual outspoken critique of Trump.
Moore simply commented on the post with “Lol.” The Maryland governor added more context, saying, “Keep telling yourself that, Mr. President.” The cheeky dismissal of Trump’s claim that the two had made amends for their recent war of words is certain to make things dicier as Trump continues to contemplate whether he should deploy National Guard troops to Baltimore as well.
Keep telling yourself that, Mr. President.
— Wes Moore (@iamwesmoore) August 25, 2025
According to The Hill, Moore had previously challenged the president to walk the streets of Baltimore first before making statements about it from the Oval Office. Trump then took to his Truth Social to lean into what his other adversary, Governor Gavin Newsom, has been lampooning, and made another one of his infamous posts about national issues. Trump wrote, “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.’”
Trump’s disdain for Baltimore might be caused by the crime rate, but the president’s threats are going far beyond a simple restructuring of police enforcement in the area. Trump has previously threatened that if the crime rate isn’t reduced, he might reconsider federal funding for the reconstruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which was damaged last year after a cargo ship mistakenly rammed into it.
Moore, on the other hand, has been celebrating the crime rate in the area — specifically pointing to the record-low murder rate in Baltimore. But considering Trump has already expressed his distrust of such statistics, it is unlikely that would move the needle with the president at this time. So far, every time Trump has threatened a deployment of National Guard troops, he has followed through. It remains to be seen whether the case will be the same with Baltimore.
Moore, however, hit Trump on a sore topic, claiming that just as Trump once pushed his claims of a Barack Obama scandal accusing the former president of treason as a distraction, this attack on Baltimore is just another distraction to keep his base from thinking or speaking about Jeffrey Epstein.
