Maryland’s chief executive and the mayor of Baltimore condemned Trump’s suggestion that he could send the National Guard to their state’s largest city, citing falling crime rates and the president’s penchant for dictatorial behavior.
At a time when fascist, presidential overreach has seemingly become humdrum for many Americans, it’s perhaps understandable that resistance to said tyranny also goes largely unnoticed.
So allow me a moment to point out the courage and fortitude displayed by two of Postindustrial political leaders who oppose Trump’s creeping efforts to militarize his grasp on the nation.
Both Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott are speaking out against Trump’s suggestion that he might send National Guard troops to the state’s largest city under the auspices of quelling rampant crime.
Trump recently floated the idea of sending federal troops into Baltimore during his announcement that he was doing just that in the nation’s capital, where 800 National Guard service members are participating in civilian law enforcement, the kind of militarization of security I’ve previously witnessed in Kabul and Baghdad, and other conflict-torn capitals like Haiti’s Port-au-Prince.
Hoping to expand on his strongman fantasies, Trump suggested he might do likewise in Baltimore, Chicago, and other blue cities (curious there was no mention of sending troops to Red State capitals like Little Rock, Arkansas, and Jackson, Mississippi, where crime is among the worst in the nation).
However, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a veteran of the Afghan War, isn’t having it.
“I’m embarrassed, I’m angered and, frankly, I’m heartbroken for members of the National Guard asked to take on this mission,” Moore said during a recent interview with CNN on the subject.
His office also issued a statement condemning the move in DC and suggesting Baltimore could be next:
As someone who has served overseas in uniform and is commander‑in‑chief of the Maryland Guard, I take how, when, and why we deploy members of our armed forces personally and seriously. 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’s remarks are diplomatic, yet stern in their condemnation of Trump’s blatant attempt to distract from the Epstein saga and his economic failings by playing to his supporters’ fever dreams about “owning the libs,” which includes sending armed forces to cities with large Black and minority populations.
Baltimore’s Mayor Scott, a young up-and-comer tasked with tackling the city’s myriad of Postindustrial Dilemmas (joblessness, affordable housing, and yes, crime), took a sharper tack against the president’s heavy-handedness while emphasizing that the crime rate in Baltimore has gone down significantly.
“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 earlier this week.
“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.”
While Baltimore’s mayor and Gov. Moore contend that crime is still too high, they’re right to take offense at the mere suggestion of sending the National Guard into the streets.
And it’s goddamn inspiring to see them both stand up to Trump and serve as an example to other leaders, and the rest of us, to do likewise.
