XPost: alt.politics.trump, sac.politics, soc.culture.african.american   
   XPost: talk.politics.guns   
   From: black.scum.animals@splcenter.org   
      
   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)