2:10Donald Trump speaks as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth listens during a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 26, 2025. | Maryland Governor Wes Moore visits “FOX News Sunday” with Shannon Bream at FOX News D.C. Bureau on March 23, 2025 in Washington, DC.Mandel Ngan/AFP | Paul Morigi/Getty Images
Following a weekend of mutual digs on digital platforms and cable television, President Donald Trump and Maryland Governor Wes Moore are extending their public clash—Trump insists the governor told him he was the “finest president of my lifetime,” while Moore brands that claim a “make-believe exchange.”
While putting his name to executive orders in the Oval Office Monday afternoon, Trump renewed his barrage against Moore and against Baltimore, again describing the city as “on life support” and “awash in frightening crime,” before recalling a personal moment he said he cherished.
“I bumped into him at the Army-Navy game. Folks told me, ‘Governor Moore would be thrilled to meet you.’ He came over, hugged me, shook my hand—you witnessed it. Then he told me, ‘Sir, you’re the greatest president I’ve ever lived under,’” Trump declared, maintaining that Moore also praised the job he was doing as “terrific.”
“I replied, ‘That’s really kind—if only you could say it out loud, but I get it if politics won’t let you,’” the president added.
The governor, however, flatly rejected that any such remark was uttered, dismissing it as “imaginary.”
Donald Trump speaks as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth listens during a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 26, 2025. | Maryland Governor Wes Moore visits “FOX News Sunday” with Shannon Bream at FOX News D.C. Bureau on March 23, 2025 in Washington, DC.Mandel Ngan/AFP | Paul Morigi/Getty Images
“My integrity means a great deal to me, and I spent half a year before Election Day telling voters why I believed he should not return to the presidency. So when I state that the conversation never occurred—this invented exchange never happened—I mean exactly that,” Moore told WBAL Radio.
Late Monday, Moore also posted on X, replying to a clip of Trump’s Oval Office comments with: “Tell yourself whatever helps you sleep, Mr. President.”
Fox News broadcast footage Monday night from the Army-Navy game showing the two men smiling and clasping hands, with Moore saying, “Great to see you … wonderful that you’re back.” No portion of that recording captures Moore designating Trump the “greatest president” of his lifetime.
“We’re eager to partner closely with you,” Moore told the president at the time, stressing that securing federal aid to rebuild Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge remained Maryland’s top priority after a cargo vessel collision wrecked the span and sent numerous vehicles into the river.
“We’ll give you the support you need,” Trump answered after further dialogue.
Governor Wes Moore holds a press conference at Salvation Army Annapolis Corps with energy company partners to announce an initiative to help lower energy costs for Marylanders.Kim Hairston/The Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
According to Moore’s office, the governor and the president spoke only in the brief, televised exchange at the football game; there was no separate, off-camera chat.
The White House, however, continues to stand by the president’s version, telling ABC News that Moore’s accolades were delivered “out of public view.”
“Governor Wes Moore bent over backwards to laud President Trump backstage following the President’s decisive victory on November 5,” White House spokeswoman Liz Huston said. “The truth is, lightweight Wes Moore only attacks the President because he’s starved for spotlight and deluded enough to think he could be the next occupant of the Oval Office.”
On Tuesday, addressing reporters again in the Oval Office, Trump renewed his denunciation of Baltimore’s crime statistics, branding the city a “hell-scape.”
“Governor Moore told me … ‘I’d be honored to walk the streets with the president.’ My response was, ‘I’d look forward to working with you, but only after you wipe out the violent crime—because I’m certainly not strolling through Baltimore until then.’”
Last week, Moore formally invited the president to take part in a public-safety walk with Baltimore officials. In a letter, he outlined the statewide crime-fighting measures Maryland has implemented while also pointing to federal budget reductions by the Trump administration that have hampered progress.
“Governor Wes Moore of Maryland has now demanded, in an aggressive and openly insulting tone, that I ‘join him for a walk through Maryland,’” Trump wrote on his social-media platform. “I assume he’s referring to the dangerous streets of Baltimore? I will deploy federal forces—similar to what we’re doing next door in D.C.—and rapidly restore law and order, should the governor ask for assistance.”
The president’s focus on Baltimore’s crime mirrors the city’s own declaration last month of “historic reductions in violent offenses” during the first half of 2025, along with its lowest homicide tally in five decades.
ABC News’ Hannah Demissie contributed to this report.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
