MSNBC Anchor Reminds Mayor His City Has One of the Highest Crime Rates After He Snaps Back at Trump
MSNBC anchor Ana Cabrera reminded Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott (D) that his city suffers from some of the highest crime rates in the country after he celebrated a 50-year low in recorded homicides in response to President Donald Trump.
Scott joined Cabrera on Tuesday, where he responded to the president’s insults against Baltimore. Trump called it a “hellhole” after Maryland Governor Wes Moore (D) invited him to walk the streets with him. Moore’s comments were to push back on Trump’s suggestion that he could deploy National Guard troops to cities like Baltimore to crack down on crime, as he has already done in Washington, D.C.
Scott argued that he is already leading the effort to reduce violent crime in Baltimore, referencing programs focused on rehabilitation and the targeting of illegal guns.
“We know how to continue to reduce violence here in Baltimore city. We have the fewest amount of homicides in 50 years on record. And that’s because of what we’re doing in our comprehensive violence prevention plan. Mayors like myself across the country are leading in this effort,” the mayor said.
While he did not say he would back a plan for the federal deployment of National Guard troops to Baltimore, Scott did say he is open to Trump sending agents to local FBI, ATF, and DEA offices.
“We are reducing gun violence the right way here in Baltimore city. We want to continue that effort because we’re not saying that we solved this issue. But for someone who grew up here in Baltimore in the 90s, in the 2000, who was here during the president’s first term, where we had 300 plus murders every single year, we are now on the right track, and we want to keep going down that path and want anyone to be helpful, but it has to be the right way,” he said.
Cabrera noted that while Baltimore has seen a reduction in homicides, the city still has one of the highest crime rates in the country. As Cabrera also pointed out, there have also been dozens of homicides in Baltimore this year. As of August 1, the city has seen 84 homicides this year, a drop from 111 during the same time in 2024.
“Your city has seen this big drop in homicides this year, but it still has one of the highest crime rates in the country, and there are still dozens of people who have been killed,” she said. “What is your plan to accelerate the crackdown on the violence? You mentioned some partnerships that have helped. What measures have you taken that are working?”
“We’re investing in community violence intervention work where we are paying people who used to be in that life of crime to now prevent violence from happening,” Scott said. “And we’re talking about now three consecutive years of historic reductions in homicides in Baltimore city. This is not just this year. This is the fewest amount of homicides that this city has ever had through this date.”
Check out the full exchange below:
BRANDON SCOTT: We know how to continue to reduce violence here in Baltimore city. We have the fewest amount of homicides in 50 years on record. And that’s because of what we’re doing in our comprehensive violence prevention plan. Mayors like myself across the country are leading in this effort. We have said before, we work with our federal partners each and every day. If the president wants to help us continue to reduce gun violence in Baltimore, he could send us more agents to our local FBI, ATF, DEA for them to work alongside our police department, as they already do, helping us to extract gun traffickers, violent drug organizations, violent folks using guns each and every day because we have a deep partnership with myself, my police commissioner, the state’s attorney of Baltimore, our attorney general. We are reducing gun violence the right way here in Baltimore city. We want to continue that effort because we’re not saying that we solved this issue. But for someone who grew up here in Baltimore in the 90s, in the 2000, who was here during the president’s first term, where we had 300 plus murders every single year, we are now on the right track, and we want to keep going down that path and want anyone to be helpful, but it has to be the right way.
ANA CABRERA: Your city has seen this big drop in homicides this year, but it still has one of the highest crime rates in the country, and there are still dozens of people who have been killed. What is your plan to accelerate the crackdown on the violence? You mentioned some partnerships that have helped. What measures have you taken that are working?
SCOTT: Yeah. Listen, we we have our group violence reduction strategy where we focus on the very small amount of people who are the most likely to be the victim or perpetrator of that gun violence. We actually give those folks a letter from me saying we’ve identified them and given them a chance to change their life and say, we will help them do that. If they don’t, then through my police department’s investigations, we will remove them and turn them over to our attorney general here in Maryland, Anthony Brown, or our state’s attorney here in Baltimore city, Ivan Bates, for prosecution. We also will focus on guns and a very, very deep way. If you are carrying an illegal gun, the police department will remove you, turn you over to our friends to prosecute you. We’re investing in community violence intervention work where we are paying people who used to be in that life of crime to now prevent violence from happening. And we’re talking about now three consecutive years of historic reductions in homicides in Baltimore city. This is not just this year. This is the fewest amount of homicides that this city has ever had through this date. And that’s still not enough for me. We want to keep that work going by expanding that work, expanding that partnership. And we also are going to go after gun companies and gun stores if they are not doing the right thing.
Watch above via MSNBC.
