XPost: alt.politics.trump, sac.politics, talk.politics.guns   
   XPost: soc.culture.african.american   
   From: mariospizza@boston.ma   
      
   Maryland Governor Wes Moore took a page out of California Governor Gavin   
   Newsom’s playbook this week by picking a public fight with President   
   Donald Trump, challenging him to walk Baltimore’s streets and see the   
   state’s crime strategy in action.   
      
   Like Newsom’s childish provocations of Trump in recent days, Moore’s   
   invitation was a clear effort by the ambitious 46-year-old to dip his   
   toe in the waters of Democrats’ wide-open 2028 presidential primary   
   field. But also like Newsom, Moore ended up only embarrassing himself by   
   drawing more attention to the fact that his administration has been a   
   testament to the failures of liberal governance.   
      
   The spat began earlier this month when Moore launched an attack on   
   Trump’s decision to deploy National Guard troops to Washington, D.C. to   
   combat the capital’s crime epidemic. Trump then responded by floating   
   the idea of deploying National Guard troops to Baltimore to help address   
   the city’s decades-long reputation as one of the most dangerous in   
   America. Baltimore had the third-highest violent crime rate of any city   
   in the country last year and consistently ranks in the top ten.   
   Baltimore also had the highest per capita murder rate of any big city in   
   the United States in 2024.   
      
   Moore then pounced on the opportunity to draw attention to himself   
   during public remarks, demanding that Trump “keep our names out of your   
   mouth” – despite the fact that he intentionally sparked the feud in the   
   first place. During a later appearance on CNN, Moore declared that “many   
   of the comments that are being made from the White House come off as so   
   tone-deaf and so ignorant about fighting crime… it’s because they have   
   not walked our streets.”   
      
   In another interview on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Moore invited Trump to come   
   and “learn” about what the state is doing on crime while reiterating his   
   call for the President to “walk” through Baltimore.   
      
   “Governor Wes Moore of Maryland has asked, in a rather nasty and   
   provocative tone, that I ‘walk the streets of Maryland’ with him,” Trump   
   responded on Truth Social. “I assume he is talking about out of control,   
   crime ridden, Baltimore? As President, I would much prefer that he clean   
   up this Crime disaster before I go there for a ‘walk.’”   
      
   Trump then issued another post claiming that Moore privately told Trump   
   he was “the greatest president of my lifetime.” Moore continued the   
   tit-for-tat by responding with a simple “lol” to Trump’s post on X,   
   before later confirming to several news outlets that he never said that   
   to Trump. Subsequent video showed Moore warmly and cordially greeting   
   Trump ahead of last year’s Army-Navy football game.   
      
   The political subtext of the fiery back-and-forth isn’t subtle. Moore’s   
   row with Trump boosts his national profile, and his rapid-fire media   
   hits and direct challenges to Trump are a transparent soft launch for a   
   2028 presidential bid. Moore, like Newsom, recognizes that what the   
   Democrat base wants most is someone who will “fight” Trump – and so he’s   
   doing his best to pick all the fights he can.   
      
   Moore is even apparently already courting Democrat power brokers to back   
   him. Actor George Clooney, famous for his liberal activism, told CNN’s   
   Jake Tapper that he thinks Moore could win the nomination in 2028.   
      
   Clearly eager to keep the spotlight on him – and match his emerging   
   rival Gavin Newsom – Moore also recently announced that he’s actively   
   weighing a new congressional map that could target Rep. Andy Harris, the   
   Old Line State’s lone Republican. Additionally, in May, Moore headlined   
   South Carolina Democrats’ Blue Palmetto Dinner in a classic display of   
   early-state stagecraft.   
      
   But much like Gavin Newsom, the more that Wes Moore is in the spotlight,   
   the more his far-left record gets exposed for the entire country to see.   
      
   This spring, for instance, Moore signed a $67 billion tax hike that is   
   effectively the largest tax increase in Maryland history. The package   
   adds new tax brackets, imposes a two-percent capital gains surcharge on   
   investment income above $350,000, and creates a three-percent sales and   
   use tax on many data and information-technology services which began   
   July 1, 2025.   
      
   Budget pressure followed that unpopular policy. Moore’s administration   
   recently announced a statewide hiring freeze and a voluntary buyout   
   program offering $20,000 to eligible employees to trim payrolls and   
   close a $121 million gap, confirming the financial unfeasibility of his   
   economic policies.   
      
   Unsurprisingly, Maryland’s long-term budget picture remains negative.   
   The state’s Department of Legislative Services 90-Day Report projects   
   multi-year deficits, a cash shortfall of about $2.95 billion in fiscal   
   year 2026, and says the structural deficit could approach $6 billion by   
   fiscal year 2030.   
      
   Meanwhile, Moore’s attempts to revive Baltimore’s Red Line, an east-west   
   transit corridor, have been shelved. Federal studies peg it in the   
   multi-billion-dollar range and on a long timeline, meaning years of   
   planning and early spending before taxpayers get to even use it – much   
   like Newsom’s ill-fated high-speed rail project in California.   
      
   Education remains another glaring failure for Governor Moore. Despite   
   spending more than ever per student on education, only about a quarter   
   of Maryland students are proficient in math, and in Baltimore City it’s   
   closer to one in eight.   
      
   What Moore doesn’t seem to realize is that all of these failures, from   
   sky-high crime rates to ballooning deficits and left-wing pipe dreams,   
   will follow him into any conversation about the presidency. It’s one   
   thing to win the national spotlight – it’s another entirely to convince   
   voters that your record is deserving of the White House.   
      
   https://amac.us/newsline/politics/why-maryland-gov-wes-moores-anti-trump-   
   gambit-wont-work/   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)