Moore says he never called Trump 'greatest president of my lifetime' as Trump claims
After a weekend of tit-for-tat jabs on social media and television, President Donald Trump and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore are continuing their feud -- with Trump claiming the governor called him the "greatest president of my lifetime," but Moore referring to this as an "imaginary conversation."
While signing executive orders in the Oval Office Monday afternoon, Trump continued his ongoing criticism of Moore and the city of Baltimore for being a "deathbed" with "tremendous crime," before flashing back to an interaction that he described fondly.
"I met him at the Army-Navy game. They said, 'Oh there's Gov. Moore. He'd love to see you.' He came over to me, hugged me, shook my hand, you were there. He said, 'Sir, you're the greatest president of my lifetime,'" Trump said, adding that Moore had told him he was doing a "fantastic job."
"I said, 'That's really nice that you say that. I'd love you to say that publicly, but I don't think you can do that so it's OK,'" the president continued.
But the governor denied that such a conversation ever happened, calling it "imaginary."
"I'm a person who takes my integrity very seriously and I spent the past six months before that election campaigning as to why I did not think that he should be the next president of the United States, so when I say that that conversation never happened -- that imaginary conversation never happened -- I mean, that conversation never happened," Moore told WBAL Radio.
Moore also turned to X Monday evening, writing, "Keep telling yourself that, Mr. President" in response to a clip of Trump's remarks in the Oval Office.
A video clip from the Army-Navy game aired on Fox News Monday night, showing the two smiling and shaking hands, with Moore saying "it's great to see you … it's great to have you back here." However, there was no mention of Moore calling Trump the "greatest president" of his lifetime.
"We are very, very anxious to be able to work closely with you," Moore told the president, emphasizing federal funding to repair Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge as a focal point for the state of Maryland. A cargo ship struck the historic bridge last year, causing a partial structural collapse and plunging multiple vehicles from the bridge into the water.
"We'll help you out," Trump said after the two conversed some more.
Moore's office told ABC News that the governor and the president did not have any other interaction at the Army-Navy game apart from what was seen in the video clip.
Yet the White House continues to double down on Trump's remarks, telling ABC News that Moore's flattering commentary took place "behind the scenes."
"Governor Wes Moore heaped praise upon President Trump behind the scenes after the President's landslide victory on November 5th," White House spokeswoman Liz Huston said in a statement. "The only reason lightweight Wes Moore is attacking President Trump now is because he's desperate for attention and delusional enough to think he has a chance at becoming the next President."
In the Oval Office Tuesday, Trump once again denounced the city of Baltimore's crime rate, calling it a "hell hole."
"Wes Moore was telling me … 'I want to walk with the president.' Well, I said, 'I want to work with you, too, someday. But first you've got to clean up your crime because I'm not walking.'"
Last week, Moore formally invited the president to join Baltimore officials on a public safety walk. In a letter, Moore highlighted the action Maryland has taken to combat crime while also underscoring the federal cuts made by the Trump administration that have impacted the state.
"Governor Wes Moore of Maryland has asked, in a rather nasty and provocative tone, that I 'walk the streets of Maryland' with him. I assume he is talking about out of control, Crime ridden, Baltimore?," Trump wrote on his social media platform in response, saying he "will send in the 'troops,' which is being done in nearby DC, and quickly clean up the Crime," if the governor "needs help."
The president's concern with the city's crime rate comes as the mayor of Baltimore announced "historic reductions in violent crime" last month for the first half of 2025, in addition to citing the lowest homicide rate in 50 years.
ABC News' Hannah Demissie contributed to this report.
