President Donald Trump has threatened to send troops to Baltimore after Maryland Governor Wes Moore invited him to join a “safety walk” in the city. Trump dismissed the invitation as “nasty” and said he would prefer Moore “clean up the crime disaster” first, BBC reported.

Moore called the president’s comments “tone deaf and ignorant,” arguing Trump has not seen Baltimore’s communities.

The dispute comes as Trump expands National Guard deployments to Democratic-led cities, a move Democrats call an abuse of power. Crime data shows violent offences in Washington DC and Baltimore are already at historic lows, according to BBC.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries warned Trump has no legal authority to send troops into cities like Baltimore and Chicago.