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For a man who鈥檚 not running for president, Gov. Wes Moore sure has been making the rounds of the national Sunday talk shows recently. But there鈥檚 also been plenty to talk about, from vaccines to federal troop deployments.
Moore, appearing Sunday on NBC鈥檚 鈥淢eet the Press,鈥� would not say he would 鈥渃ompletely rule it out,鈥� when asked about a presidential bid, but he did repeat his oft-stated assertion that he is not running for president in 2028, and is focused instead on seeking reelection next year as governor of Maryland.
鈥淚鈥檒l be serving a full term. I鈥檓 excited about reelection. I鈥檓 excited about what I鈥檓 going to be able to do for the people of Maryland,鈥� he said in response to a question from moderator Kristen Welker, before reciting a list of his administration鈥檚 accomplishments.
It was similar to the discussion he had two weeks earlier on CBS鈥� 鈥淔ace the Nation,鈥� when he volunteered that he is not running for president during a discussion of President Donald Trump saying Moore is not 鈥減residential timber.鈥� Moore鈥檚 residential aspirations did not come up on last week鈥檚 鈥淭his Week鈥� on ABC 鈥� but he wasn鈥檛 directly asked about it.
What Moore has been asked about in each appearance was the president鈥檚 threat to send troops into Baltimore, among other cities, to respond to crime there.
Moore 鈥� who on Friday announced a surge of Maryland State Police into the city to help further bring down crime rates 鈥� repeated his charge that Trump鈥檚 proposal would be 鈥減erformative鈥� and ineffective. He said Guard members are not trained for law enforcement and noted that those deployed last month to Washington, D.C., have been reduced in some instances to raking mulch and picking up trash, at what he said is an estimated cost of $1 million a day.
鈥淵ou know, the president鈥檚 proposed budget actually cuts supports for the FBI and ATF [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] bureaus, which are things we actually could use,鈥� Moore said. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e looking at the Big Beautiful Bill, it actually cuts $30 million of funding for violence prevention programs that are happening in the city of Baltimore and across the state of Maryland.鈥�
Trump has said that the presence of federal troops has led to a drop in crimes that have made the District a 鈥渟afe zone.鈥� D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has said that crime was already at historic lows already, but she recently credited the presence of federal troops with a further drop in crimes.
Moore acknowledged that crime is down in D.C., but said it has fallen just as fast, or faster, in Baltimore during the same time frame without federal intervention.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e looking at the same time period of this D.C. occupation 鈥� if you look at assaults with a deadly weapon, they鈥檝e actually increased in D.C. by 8%; in Baltimore, have decreased by 10%,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd on every other major indicator, from homicide, to carjacking, you could say that Baltimore has actually had the same type of drop as Washington D.C. has had during this period. And we didn鈥檛 mobilize the National Guard for it.鈥�
What Moore did do was announce plans Friday for a 鈥渞enewed collaboration鈥� between the Baltimore City Police Department and the Maryland State Police.
鈥淲e are proud of the progress that we鈥檝e been able to make, and we鈥檙e all very, very concerned about how much work still needs to happen,鈥� Moore said at the time, flanked by Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and city and state police officials. 鈥淚f one person does not feel safe in their neighborhood, that is one too many.鈥�
