Two weeks after practically daring the president to come walk through Baltimore with him, Gov. Wes Moore set out Friday from the middle of Park Heights to do the thing Donald Trump has said he won’t: Take a stroll through the city.

“We believe in being boots on ground and being able to actually talk to people and be able to hear about what people’s apprehensions, hopes and dreams are,” Moore said.

Joined by Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and several dozen law enforcement officers, elected officials and anti-violence advocates, Moore set off from a Family Dollar parking lot at 5:18 p.m.

The collective walked down the block and across the street, arriving at their destination, a church parking lot, at 5:25 p.m.

The entire stroll took seven minutes.

“We had a chance to listen to village elders talk about what’s required and necessary, to listen to people who live in communities and who oftentimes find themselves living in communities where people were more focused on talking about them instead of talking with them,” Moore said.

The governor was cheery and spoke about the progress Baltimore had made in addressing violent crime.

Friday’s walk came after weeks of sniping back and forth between Trump, who called Baltimore a “hellhole” and a “horrible deathbed,” and local political leaders who have defended the city.

The group walked briskly, with Moore and Scott at the lead, and they made no stops on the 0.3-mile trek to chat with community members. They were heckled by a man who yelled that the event was just “a photo op ... because Trump said something.”

A woman who lives near the church parking lot said before the event she wished the governor would quit engaging with Trump.

“I think he [Moore] needs to leave that crazy man alone,” she said, declining to give her name. “What if we don’t get that bridge built because he started something?” a reference to Key Bridge funding Trump has threatened to pull back.

Not everyone was so cynical.

Kevin Myers, a longtime Park Heights resident, was climbing into his truck when the group passed. He said Baltimore leaders are making him proud and doing right by the city.

“Let Trump know you can handle Baltimore,” he yelled to the mayor, who smiled widely in response.

After the quick stroll, staffers corralled dozens of elected officials, community leaders and residents to form a backdrop for a press conference. The mayor and governor ducked inside a community center for about 20 minutes, emerging to applause from the same crowd they’d just walked with.

They set about repeating many of the lines they’ve said for weeks: that no occupation of the city is necessary and the people here are doing good work to make progress on violence.

After the walk, Moore’s administration said it was sending Maryland State Police troopers and Maryland Transportation Authority Police officers to help Baltimore Police with “proactive enforcement” and to help serve warrants.

Trump has hinted that he may send a surge of federal law enforcement or National Guard troops to Baltimore to quell what he believes is rampant violent crime, even though the city has seen a remarkable reduction in crime in recent years.

As each day has worn on, Moore in particular has kept attention on Trump’s denigration of the city, making the rounds of cable news shows and podcasts and declaring he will “bow down to no one” and that Trump should “keep our names out of your mouth.”

Friday’s event was quickly organized this week, though Moore said Trump’s ongoing remarks about Baltimore had no role.

“Nothing we are doing is inspired by the president. The president does not inspire us,” Moore said.

Speaking at an event in Park Heights last month, Moore initially challenged the president to come on a community walk in Baltimore.

Trump hasn’t accepted the offer, saying on Wednesday: “I’m a brave guy, but there’s no reason to be stupid.”

Scott has defended the city repeatedly. This week, the mayor cautioned Baltimoreans not to give Trump what he wants — chaos in neighborhoods.

The mayor and governor, along with the attorney general, are exploring legal actions if and when a federal mobilization arrives in the city.

Though homicides and other violent crimes are on an overall decline in Baltimore, officials acknowledge work remains. Park Heights has largely mirrored that trend.

The event’s location held symbolic meaning for Scott. He grew up in Park Heights, and the parking lot of St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran has been a place of firsts. His first touchdown catch. His first made jump shot. His first kiss. And, grimly, the place he saw his first shooting.

“Imagine being a young man and having to duck in those bushes. ... That’s why I became a public servant. That’s why I dedicated my life to Baltimore City,” Scott said, underscoring how personal it is for him to be part of the turnaround in Park Heights and other neighborhoods.

People from Baltimore understand best what the city needs and it’s not outsiders telling them what to do, Scott said.

“We don’t need folks who don’t understand, or who don’t care about Baltimore, who don’t know what Baltimoreans mean to each other, to tell us what we are and who we are,” Scott said, “Because we know that we are Charm City. We are the people in the greatest city in America.”

Banner photojournalist Ulysses Muñoz and The Associated Press contributed to this article.