Former Maryland governor and Baltimore mayor Martin O’Malley said Sunday on NBC’s "Meet the Press" that the situation in Baltimore should be a wake-up call for cities across the country.
"What's happened in Baltimore should be a wake-up call for the entire country," O’Malley said. "We have deep problems as a country, and we need deeper understanding if we're going to give our children a better future."
O'Malley — a potential candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination — said the issue must be central in any campaign. If he announced a run for the presidency, he said he would do it in Baltimore.
"I wouldn't think of announcing anyplace else," he said. "We are not defeated as a city, and we are not about to throw in the towel on our country."
O’Malley led Baltimore for two terms, from 1999-2006, before serving two terms as governor of Maryland.