Gov. Wes Moore served in combat. Here's what he thinks about the Iran war

[0:00] The president never did address the nation. [0:02] No. [0:02] Should he? [0:03] Yes. [0:04] And I know it might not feel like it to many Americans. [0:08] We are a nation at war. [0:10] It appears that Democrats have the advantage heading into the 2026 election. [0:14] But let's be real. [0:16] How could your party still screw this up? [0:18] I think that Donald Trump has been a fantastic vessel for the frustration. [0:22] He's just not a vehicle for the solution. [0:24] Wes Moore is the Democratic governor of Maryland. [0:27] He's considered a rising Democratic star, and he's sometimes talked about as a future presidential candidate. [0:34] Moore is also an American combat veteran, and that was relevant to the discussion we had here in the Maryland Statehouse. [0:41] I want to ask about some news. [0:45] What are you thinking as your former unit, the 82nd Airborne Division, is deployed to the Middle East? [0:51] You know, I've had a lot of conversations with some of the folks that I serve with, in fact, recently as early as this morning. [0:57] There was always something that we knew as paratroopers, as members of the 82nd, or just, frankly, anybody in the military, [1:05] is that you never authorize military force unless, A, military force was the last option, [1:14] B, we had an understanding of what the mission and the endgame was, [1:19] and C, you were spending your time and your energy building the right kind of coalition that could help to be successful in advance. [1:27] The problem with this mission is... [1:30] None of those things have, A, not been accomplished, but I'm not sure if any of the three of them have even been thought about. [1:36] Because there is no one who could argue that military action was the last resort on this mission. [1:41] Nobody. [1:43] There's nobody that can argue that we understand what the mission is, or mission accomplishment is, or the endgame. [1:48] And it's not because we're being naive. [1:51] It's because we've all heard maybe a dozen things from the president himself. [1:55] And the third thing, when we talk about an international coalition, [1:58] I mean, that's almost laughable when you look at the fact that there is not. [2:02] There is not an international coalescing around this that's going to help us to accomplish the mission. [2:08] So, I remember when I was speaking, in fact, I was speaking with a person I serve with this morning. [2:13] And I told him, I said, I'm just, I'm praying for our paratroopers. [2:16] I'm praying for their family members. [2:19] And honestly, I'm praying for the leadership of this country. [2:24] I'm praying for the president. [2:26] I'm praying for the secretary of defense. [2:29] I'm praying that God give them guidance and vision. [2:34] I'm praying that God give them [2:36] an understanding of the men and women and their families who they're asking to actually do the work. [2:42] Because I think that's been lost in all this. [2:44] And I'm praying that we have leadership that can actually meet this moment. [2:51] When you talk about defining the mission, that's in a broad strategic sense. [2:55] I want to ask a tactical question. [2:57] As someone who served, there is talk of sending these troops, perhaps, to seize an island. [3:02] You wouldn't attack Iran, the mainland, but you might try to seize an island. [3:06] What does it take for a few thousand American troops [3:08] to seize an island under fire? [3:10] Well, let's also be clear that there is no mission that is as easy as advertised. [3:17] When people talk about, well, it's just a plot of land. [3:21] You don't think the Iranians have thought about that? [3:23] That the Iranians have thought about that for years? [3:26] That we've been preparing for that for years? [3:28] Ironically, I was talking with a guy that I both served with and also trained with. [3:33] And he contacted me probably a couple weeks ago. [3:36] And he said, remember in training, when we used to run [3:39] battle drills on Iran and how complicated it was? [3:43] We're talking 25 years ago. [3:45] This is not a new phenomenon. [3:46] So this idea that somehow this would be easy to do is laughable. [3:53] And so I just I think that both the idea of the taking over of territory or if [4:00] they're talking about utilizing them or special operators to be able to [4:04] seize enriched uranium or if they're talking about using it to help to take over the straight [4:11] lines of Hormuz, or if they're talking about using them to go into Tehran. [4:15] The thing that I would just remind people of this, let's not pretend like the Iranians [4:21] have not been running battle drills on this for decades. [4:24] As long as Americans have been training. [4:26] As long as Americans have been training for this. [4:27] The president never did address the nation. [4:29] No. Should he? [4:31] Yes. And in fact, he addressed the nation a few days before and said nothing about it. [4:35] And so, you know, we are, to be clear, and it's important for people to understand this, [4:40] we are a nation at war. [4:41] Right now. [4:44] And I know it might not feel like it to many Americans. [4:47] We are a nation at war. [4:50] And we have not either been spoken to from the president of the United States. [4:58] We have not been asked to sacrifice anything as a country. [5:03] We don't have a measurement of explanation as to what is going on. [5:07] We are just simply asking a very small [5:10] portion of our population to go on and take on this weight. [5:13] While, by the way, we're asking the rest of the population [5:17] to pay more in gas prices, to pay more in food prices, [5:22] to be able to watch health care being pulled away and food security being [5:28] pulled away without any understanding of how these two things actually how these [5:32] things actually translate and are connected to one another. [5:35] So, no, the president of the United States owes it to the people of this country. [5:38] If you are going to do this, if you're going to take on the most solemn choice, [5:43] choice as a president of the United States and as commander in chief, you owe it to [5:46] the American people. [5:47] And you owe it to these soldiers, these sailors, these airmen, these Marines and [5:51] their family members to explain what it is that we're doing and what it is that we [5:55] are all asking to be sacrificed. [5:56] Even if you disagree with starting the war, does the United States now have to [6:01] fight it through to a victory because a victory by Iran would be so disastrous? [6:05] But what does a victory by the United States mean? [6:08] What does a victory by the United States look like? [6:10] How would you define that? [6:11] No one has articulated that because right now, here's what we're on pace for. [6:15] We're on pace for a conflict that has cost [6:18] about a billion dollars a day, that has driven up gas prices over a dollar [6:25] since this conflict began all across the United States of America. [6:29] And there we're not on pace for a regime change. [6:35] We're not on pace for a complete seizing of all the enriched uranium or that Iran [6:42] would now be on any any detour path for a nuclear weapon. [6:48] What does victory actually look like? [6:52] And frankly, what I'm hearing from the administration, even what they're claiming [6:56] as, you know, we've won the war, this is not victory. [6:59] What they're claiming for, what there seems like they're seeking is some kind [7:03] of quiet exit strategy from something that I think that the reason we're here is [7:08] because of the lack of planning that has gotten us here in the first place. [7:11] How would you have handled Iran if it was [7:13] in your lap and it was back in February before the shooting started? [7:17] And, you know, there's these negotiations going on. [7:19] You know that Israel regards Iran as a threat. [7:22] The United States has concerns about Iran's nuclear program. [7:24] What would you have done? [7:25] I think we all have concerns about Iran's nuclear program because I do think we are [7:29] dealing with a nation that that had they gained access to a nuclear weapon would [7:33] have no problem in using it. Right. [7:35] So I think there was a bipartisan consensus [7:39] for how that Iran should not have a nuclear weapon and that there needed to be [7:44] not just a bipartisan consensus, but there was an international consensus [7:48] about our ability to be able to prevent them from doing that. [7:51] That's why the negotiation. [7:52] The negotiations were so important. [7:54] That's why being able to actually come up with a nuclear deal became so important. [7:58] You would have kept negotiating that. [8:00] I think until until someone could tell me, until intelligence told me that we are now [8:05] hitting a point that we have an imminent threat on our hands and all forms [8:10] of negotiation had hit a brick wall, then that's the moment. [8:14] Like I said, when we talk about how [8:16] military force should be the last resort, that's when I think military force is [8:21] something that you then tend to look at. [8:22] But I don't think there's anybody who is arguing that we were at that point. [8:27] Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, said the president was [8:31] the one who would be allowed to define the imminent threat and that he did. [8:35] Well, I also think the president needs [8:37] to understand that if you're dealing with the imminent threat through warfare, [8:42] then whether or not the president of the United States is the one to make [8:46] a final authorization is one thing, but then you still need to notify Congress [8:49] and that people still need to have an understanding as to what is going on. [8:53] That that. [8:54] That the what the president of the United States has not just the moral, [8:58] but the legal authority to protect the homeland. [9:01] We understand that and we agree with that. [9:03] But if you can't argue that there was [9:06] an imminent threat that required you to put the country at war, [9:11] then that's where this gets very difficult and very murky. [9:16] And frankly, I think it's indefensible. [9:19] We're talking during a week that is [9:22] the anniversary of an event here in Maryland, the collapse of the Key Bridge [9:25] outside of Baltimore. [9:27] So two years ago that happened in twenty twenty four in twenty twenty five. [9:31] As many people will know, you had an exchange of words with the president [9:35] and he threatened to cut off funding for repairing that bridge, rebuilding that bridge. [9:39] In early twenty twenty six, though, [9:42] things had progressed to the point where you put out a joint statement with Sean [9:46] Duffy, the transportation secretary, hailing progress. [9:48] What changed? [9:49] Well, I think nothing changed. [9:52] I think what happened was we've just [9:55] continued what has been historic progress. [9:57] I mean, Maryland has put on a case study [10:00] on how to respond in moments of crisis because at two or two in the morning [10:05] on March twenty six, two years ago, when I first heard about this, [10:08] you know, a ship the size of three football fields collapsing into our iconic [10:12] Key Bridge, you know, immediately we sprung into action, [10:16] putting the state on the state of emergency, working with state and local [10:19] and federal partners when they told us it was going to take eleven months to clear [10:23] the federal channel, we got it cleared in eleven weeks when they told us it would [10:26] take could take years to be able to get permitting done, to be able to fix a [10:30] bridge because this bridge is nearly two miles long. [10:33] We got permitting done in months that we [10:36] were able to bring closure and comfort to the six families who lost loved ones, [10:42] construction workers who were working that night, that when they said it could take [10:46] five to seven years to get to a 70 percent design design build for the bridge. [10:50] We got it done in 14 months. [10:52] This has been this is the fastest moving large project in America right now. [10:57] In Maryland, we are showing. [10:59] That we move fast and we get big things done. [11:01] And we've been working with our federal [11:04] partners first in the Biden administration and now working with Secretary Duffy, [11:07] the Department of Transportation. He's been collaborative. [11:09] Whatever the president is, I think that Secretary Duffy has been a very good [11:14] partner on this because whether it's working on the key bridge together or [11:18] whether it is working on the American Legion bridge, [11:21] you know, another bridge that's needing another major bridge is need and another [11:25] bridge that we plan on getting done on our time. [11:27] So, you know, I'm very clear. [11:29] That, you know, we will work with anybody to be able to get this done. [11:32] If you look at the 100 percent cost share that we have for the key bridge, [11:35] that came from a bipartisan group, Democrats and Republicans in Congress [11:40] who all voted to get that 100 percent cost share for the key bridge. [11:44] And so I am I'm thankful because this project is moving fast. [11:48] It is moving safely. [11:50] And I think Maryland is really putting on a case study about how to respond in crisis [11:55] and how to get big things done. I want to ask about bipartisanship. [11:59] You and I shared a stage recently with a couple of your fellow governors, [12:03] one of whom was Kevin Stitt, Republican of Oklahoma, very conservative. [12:06] And he made a statement that you agreed with. [12:10] He said that the government should promote equal opportunity, not equal outcomes, [12:15] which in my mind is a line that is used as sometimes a jab against progressives. [12:18] But you agreed with it. [12:20] I wholeheartedly agree with him. Why? [12:22] Because I believe that the promise of America is that everyone in America, [12:28] you know, [12:29] I'm not saying that everyone in this country needs to end up at the same spot, [12:34] but I believe everyone in this country deserves a fair shot. [12:37] And that's that distance is where I think this country has had historic challenges, [12:43] where I think you have some people who think that the definition of fairness is [12:46] everyone ends up in the same spot, right? [12:49] Including some people in your party, would you say? [12:51] I absolutely. Yeah. [12:52] And I just fundamentally disagree because I don't think that the answer for everybody [12:56] should be the same. It's the same reason why here in the state of Maryland, we push so hard [13:01] to make sure that we have a fair chance of getting the jobs that we need to get [13:06] things like alternative pathways for education, where we have made historic [13:10] investments, I've quadrupled the number of apprenticeship and trade slots that we [13:15] have within our state. We've gotten rid of this idea that we should be grading or [13:19] evaluating our high schools based on their four year college acceptance rate. [13:22] Because I'm like, that is a key input, but it's not a key performance indicator [13:27] that I want to make sure that every single student in our state has a chance [13:31] And if it does not, fantastic. [13:34] That we need to make sure that every single person [13:37] in our state has a chance for lifelong opportunities [13:40] and economic growth and sustainable economic mobility, [13:43] but we should not be telling each and every one of them [13:47] what it should look like. [13:49] Meaning that people should approach things differently. [13:50] I'm curious as I listen to you, [13:52] Marylanders will know that you just had to deal [13:54] with closing a budget deficit or that lawmakers did. [13:56] You have big deficits in your future. [13:59] Education is part of the reason. [14:00] Is the very education program you described [14:02] part of the problem or part of the challenge? [14:04] No, I think that there's a few things [14:07] that I think the people of my state know. [14:10] One is that we believe in fiscal discipline, [14:12] fiscal responsibility, that we've done something [14:15] that people in Washington seemingly can't do. [14:17] I've now passed four budgets, balanced budgets, [14:20] that have actually where the general fund [14:22] is smaller than the year before. [14:24] So since I've been the governor, [14:26] we have forced our state to do more with less. [14:29] But do you know what's also happened? [14:30] During that time period, [14:32] even though we are repeatedly shrinking the size [14:35] of our state budget, what's also happened is [14:38] we've increased our math and reading scores [14:42] in every single grade inside of the state of Maryland. [14:46] What's also happened is we have the fastest drops [14:48] in violent crime anywhere in the United States of America [14:52] here in the state of Maryland. [14:53] What's also happened is that we have one [14:55] of the fastest job growth rates in the entire country. [14:58] In the state of Maryland, we've gone from 43rd in the country [15:00] in terms of unemployment to now having an unemployment rate [15:02] that is systemically lower than the national average, [15:05] that we've added nearly 100,000 new jobs [15:08] since I've been the governor, [15:09] and 35,000 new businesses have been added [15:12] to the state of Maryland since I've been the governor. [15:14] So I think what we've been able to show [15:16] is that you can be fiscally disciplined, [15:18] but also be very smart about what you're investing in. [15:21] And I think one of the things that you have to invest in, [15:24] you've got to invest in education, [15:27] and you've got to invest in public education, [15:29] and you've got to invest [15:30] in your community colleges, [15:32] the places where the vast majority of our students [15:34] are getting their educational pathways, [15:36] because that's also what makes a certain jurisdiction [15:38] very attractive to business and economic growth. [15:40] I want to ask you about another potential point [15:42] of bipartisan agreement that might surprise people. [15:45] Elon Musk recently was asked why he had not given away [15:50] more of his hundreds of billions of dollars in wealth, [15:53] and he was quoted as saying, [15:54] I don't think that money can be given away very effectively. [15:57] He didn't think philanthropy works. [15:59] You and I were just talking [16:00] before this interview about your own skepticism [16:03] about philanthropy. [16:04] Are you on the same page as Elon Musk? [16:06] Well, we do have a lot of agreement. [16:08] And ironically, I ran one of the largest [16:09] poverty-fighting organizations in this country [16:12] before I ran for governor. [16:13] It's like, no, I don't come from a political background [16:16] or a political world or political family. [16:20] This is the first office I've ever ran for my life. [16:22] And before I ran this, [16:23] I ran something called the Robin Hood Foundation. [16:26] And I remember when they first approached me about it, [16:30] I told them that I'm not sure if I'm the right person [16:32] for this job to be the CEO, [16:34] because I'm naturally skeptical of philanthropy. [16:36] Where I oftentimes feel like philanthropy, [16:39] you know, philanthropy for many places [16:41] is almost like philanthropy for philanthropists. [16:44] Like they give away money because it makes them feel better, [16:47] but they're not actually helping to address the problem. [16:50] Because if you're not addressing policy, [16:52] and if you're not addressing some of these lawmakers [16:54] that are making really bad decisions, [16:56] then you're not actually interested in solving the problem. [16:58] You're just simply asking yourself to clean up the debris, [17:02] that comes from broken systems. [17:04] And so I think that philanthropy has an obligation. [17:07] They've got an obligation that yes, [17:09] if you want to give away money [17:11] to support afterschool programs, fantastic. [17:13] If you want to give away your money [17:14] to support food programs, great. [17:17] But if you're not spending your time figuring out [17:19] why there's so many people who don't have food, [17:22] and if you're not figuring out why there's so many people [17:24] who are finishing high school [17:25] and aren't ready for college or careers, [17:27] or if you're spending your time, [17:28] you say I'm giving my money towards criminal justice reform. [17:31] Well, put your money towards [17:32] why there needs to be reforms [17:33] in the first place. [17:35] Policy matters in this. [17:37] And that's why when I first became the CEO of Robinhood, [17:40] we actually created, [17:42] for the first time in the organization's 30-year history, [17:44] a policy wing, because you cannot say [17:47] you're actually interested in solving the problem [17:49] if you're not actually addressing [17:51] why the problem exists in the first place. [17:52] You are implicitly criticizing a lot of organizations [17:55] by what you're saying. [17:56] 100%. [17:57] There's a lot of foundations you think [17:58] are not getting their money's worth, [18:00] they're not aiming at systemic problems, [18:02] I guess is the way you'd put it. [18:03] They're not. [18:04] And I think you're also seeing a challenge [18:05] in the way philanthropy is even structured, right? [18:07] Because if you have philanthropies oftentimes [18:09] that are serving as C3s, you know, one of the things- [18:12] 501 , that's a nonprofit, yeah. [18:13] Correct, nonprofit status. [18:14] One of the challenges of nonprofit status is [18:17] it means that inherently you cannot be involved [18:20] in political activities. [18:22] So you're telling me you want me to help to fix a problem [18:25] without helping to address why the problem [18:28] is there in the first place. [18:29] So there's something structurally wrong [18:31] and backwards about that. [18:32] I also have a very real issue with, oftentimes, [18:35] philanthropies who have those restrictions [18:37] on how much they have to spend on their endowments. [18:40] And so you have some philanthropies that are saying, [18:42] you know, the goal, you know, they've been around, [18:44] we've been around for 70 and 100 years, [18:47] and I was like, what if you had a philanthropy [18:48] that said our job is to be gone in three? [18:51] Work yourself out of a job. [18:52] We're gonna work ourselves out of a job, right? [18:54] What about if that was your goal instead of saying, [18:57] how can I spend as little from my endowment as possible? [18:59] As I'm listening to you, Governor, [19:01] I'm also thinking about the attitude [19:02] of the Trump administration toward nonprofits, [19:05] the attitude of the administration [19:05] is that nonpartisan nonprofits are secretly all political, [19:10] they're all favoring Democrats, they're all partisan. [19:13] I think you're saying the opposite. [19:14] They're not political enough. [19:16] Yes, that's exactly right. [19:17] I actually think that, and first of all, [19:20] for the irony is when I think, [19:23] when you look at the places that the president has attacked, [19:26] there's no sincerity in what he is saying, [19:29] because a lot of the places that he actually has attacked [19:31] have been the places that have really tried [19:33] to play it straight down the lines, [19:35] and that's actually what's kept their C3 status independent, [19:39] because they have not delved into the political [19:41] or delved into the policy. [19:44] And I'm not saying that going into policy [19:46] means that you have to agree or disagree [19:49] with something inherently [19:51] that an independent political party says, [19:52] but what I am saying is this, [19:54] are you interested in solving the problem or not? [19:58] And if your answer is, well, I'm going to solve the problem, [20:01] but I'm never going to deal with the policy issues, [20:04] then I don't think that's real. [20:05] I remember when I was at Robinhood, [20:07] that we started focusing our time [20:10] on things like the child tax credit [20:12] and making enhancements to the earned income tax credit, [20:14] because I said, as an organization, [20:15] we have spent all these years fighting poverty, [20:18] but if we can make an adjustment on the child tax credit, [20:20] you could do more in that one decision [20:23] than the organization has done in 30 years. [20:24] Money in every poor family's pocket. [20:26] 100%, right? [20:27] And so, and I remember when we started advocating for that, [20:31] and I was speaking with a, [20:33] we're speaking with now a former governor on this issue, [20:36] and using our voice to say [20:37] that they should make this adjustment. [20:39] And we got, and I told him, [20:41] you should talk about it in your state of the state. [20:43] And I got an advance copy of the state of the state, [20:45] and there was nothing in there about child poverty [20:48] or the child tax credit. [20:49] And I remember speaking with the head of public policy [20:51] we brought on board, a guy named Jason Cohn. [20:54] And he said to me one day, he said, [20:55] listen, we worked for six months [20:57] to get him to include a line in the speech, [20:59] but what if you could write the whole speech? [21:02] And that was the point. [21:04] Policy matters in this. [21:06] And the people who were writing this, [21:08] who were giving the speeches and giving the speeches, [21:11] they are the ones who are gonna have an outsized impact [21:14] on whether or not we can solve these problems. [21:15] What does the spread and rapid adoption [21:17] of artificial intelligence mean [21:20] for economic opportunity for Americans? [21:23] This is gonna be one of the most transformational, [21:26] both opportunities and challenges [21:28] that our society has faced. [21:29] I mean, and you know, and here in the state of Maryland, [21:32] we're being very open-eyed about it, [21:34] even though I think, you know, [21:36] there's a lot of places that are not. [21:38] We're trying to capture the benefits of it, [21:40] where for example, we are using artificial intelligence [21:43] for things like our summer EBT program, [21:45] or it's basically a summer food program for our kids, [21:48] where now we have about three quarters of a million kids [21:50] that are receiving summer food from artificial intelligence. [21:54] Same thing where we have for our, [21:56] what we call constituent services, [21:58] or almost like consumer services, [21:59] where we're utilizing artificial intelligence [22:01] to help to make sure that people's needs are being met [22:03] here in the state of Maryland. [22:05] But I'm also very clear on this, [22:07] that we are now watching, [22:08] a stock market that continues to skyrocket, [22:12] profitability that continues to outstretch, [22:17] and by the way, the stock market gains [22:18] are basically being driven by like seven companies, [22:21] and unemployment go up. [22:24] That we're watching companies [22:26] that are now more profitable than ever, [22:28] and also laying off people. [22:30] It's because they're investing [22:32] in artificial intelligence, [22:33] they're investing in technologies, [22:35] and we are not preparing our society for it. [22:38] And so I do think it is a real obligation [22:41] for all of us, [22:42] as leaders to be able to say, [22:44] what can we do to embrace the benefits of it? [22:46] Because I think it can be transformational [22:48] in education and in healthcare, [22:50] in public safety, [22:52] yet understand how powerful this technology is. [22:56] And if we are not careful, [22:58] this is the type of technology that will overpower us, [23:01] and the people will never forgive us for that. [23:03] And there are many ways to think about that. [23:05] One is the power of the technology itself, [23:07] but the other is the economic and political power [23:11] of those few companies [23:12] that end up being the dominant place. [23:14] That's right. [23:14] Who, by the way- [23:15] Is this a risk to democracy is what I wanna know. [23:17] It's a very real risk to democracy. [23:19] It's a very real risk for democracy also, [23:21] because if you look at the way that we've looked at this, [23:25] particularly from a federal administration, [23:28] if you look at the EO that the president signed- [23:31] Executive order, right? [23:32] That's right, the executive order. [23:34] That executive order reads like [23:36] it was written by Silicon Valley. [23:38] That executive order basically said, [23:40] you listen, we got this. [23:42] All of you in states, all of you governors, [23:45] all of you everyone else, don't worry about it. [23:47] They're opposed to state regulation of AI. [23:48] Completely, completely. [23:50] And I just think that we have to be smarter about this. [23:53] Now, I'm not saying that we need to have [23:55] 50 different guidelines, right? [23:58] Because I understand the challenge of that, right? [23:59] And I understand that if something is doing a process [24:02] in Maryland and Montana and Texas and North Carolina, [24:07] that we should not then have to understand [24:08] four different ways that we can process work. [24:10] I get that. [24:11] But what's gonna happen if we have an absence [24:13] of federal leadership on this? [24:15] Is that's exactly what that is going to end up happening, [24:18] end up determining. [24:19] I think the federal government, [24:21] and I think Congress and the White House, [24:23] they have to take a leadership role [24:24] and they cannot get steamrolled by Silicon Valley [24:28] and by these tech entrepreneurs who somehow think [24:30] that they should be able to write all the rules. [24:31] Another aspect of power, [24:32] how do you believe AI will shape future elections [24:36] starting with this falls? [24:37] Well, I think people need to be, [24:40] for states, first of all, for elections, [24:42] it's states that are running this. [24:43] The federal government does not run [24:45] elections and that's one of the reasons [24:47] why it is so problematic when you're watching [24:49] what Donald Trump and JD Vance are doing [24:52] to try to manipulate this next election, [24:54] especially when you consider the fact that states [24:56] are in control of what happens in elections [24:58] in their own jurisdictions. [24:59] But I think we are going to see how people [25:02] are gonna use AI and manipulative technologies for ads. [25:08] You're gonna see how it's gonna be used [25:09] for introduction of misinformation. [25:11] You're gonna see how, and particularly for AI, [25:13] because remember, this is a learning technology. [25:16] Agentic AI means it's constantly learning [25:18] based on information. [25:20] And you're gonna see how they're gonna use that [25:22] to be able to manipulate who can vote, [25:24] when they vote, and how they vote. [25:25] And so I do think it's important for states [25:27] to get in the game on this because election security [25:31] has gotta be our top priority [25:33] as we're thinking about things going into November. [25:34] I'm also just thinking about manipulating [25:36] the minds of people, influencing people in different ways, [25:38] specializing messages for them. [25:40] And I would imagine, because it's a competitive game, [25:43] that if the other guys are doing that, [25:44] you're gonna have to do that. [25:45] Yeah, well, or I think you need [25:47] to stop everyone from doing it, right? [25:49] I think you're gonna have to have a bar [25:52] as to what information is put out there. [25:54] And frankly, not coming from a political background, [25:58] you kinda see it, right? [25:59] You're like, when you're looking at some [26:01] of the misinformation that people are utilizing [26:05] and the lies that they will just allow and tolerate, [26:09] it's staggering, wherein for many people, [26:11] that's actually become a business model [26:14] about how to confuse people. [26:15] So real facts and real data and real information [26:18] can never make it into them [26:19] because it's a lot easier to just introduce lies. [26:22] How do you limit that without censorship? [26:24] Well, because I think what you have to be able to do [26:26] is be able to, first of all, [26:28] you have to be able to be aggressive [26:29] when it comes to introducing your information [26:31] and introducing real data [26:33] and having real platforms for that. [26:35] But I do think there needs to be standards. [26:37] And I think that the social media companies [26:39] have a responsibility on this. [26:41] I think local media has to have a responsibility. [26:44] That if you are going to allow things [26:46] that are just blatantly false or blatantly dangerous, [26:51] that that should be a measure of responsibility [26:53] on you as the carrier or you as the provider [26:56] to be able to make sure that that is not allowed [26:58] on your platform. [26:59] It appears that Democrats have the advantage [27:01] heading into the 2026 elections. [27:03] History in midterm elections favors the party out of power. [27:05] The president is unpopular. [27:07] We could name other factors. [27:09] So they have the wind at their backs. [27:11] But let's be real. [27:13] How could your party still screw this up? [27:15] Well, you know, I tell you, [27:17] one thing that we're focusing on here in Maryland, [27:19] and we're not planning on screwing anything up, [27:21] is, you know, I don't think it's just about the message. [27:24] I think it's about the results. [27:26] You know, I'm very clear that here in Maryland, [27:32] and I'm on the ballot in November, [27:34] the way we plan on winning is we're going to continue showing [27:37] and reminding people of what's happened [27:39] since our administration has come on board. [27:42] That in the state of Maryland, we have now seen [27:45] how we've been able to give the middle class, [27:46] a tax cut. [27:48] And we've asked the very wealthiest Marylanders [27:50] to pay a little bit more so we can do things like [27:53] have an education system that is providing [27:56] outstripped results on reading and mathematics, [27:59] that we've been able to cut in half the teacher shortage [28:02] and the teacher vacancy rate, [28:04] that we've been able to now see how we have [28:06] a police department that is, you know, [28:08] that is actually being invested in, [28:10] where we have amongst the fastest drops [28:11] in violent crime anywhere in America. [28:13] That's not a narrative change. [28:15] Those are results. [28:17] Rob Emanuel would probably agree with you. [28:19] He was an earlier guest in this series [28:22] and argued that he wanted to hear more about education, [28:25] for example, from Democrats. [28:26] Also said they were spending too much time on social issues. [28:29] Was he right about that? [28:30] Well, I mean, I think it depends [28:31] on what we're talking about, right? [28:33] Because, you know- [28:34] He was talking about trans issues, for example. [28:36] Oh, listen, I think that, you know, [28:38] do we focus on things like reading and writing [28:40] and, you know, making sure that our students [28:42] are prepared for the world? [28:44] 100%. [28:45] Do I also think it's important [28:46] to make sure that all of our, you know, [28:48] children see themselves in the future? [28:51] That people can feel safe in their own neighborhoods [28:54] and in their own communities? [28:55] I do. [28:56] Do I think it's important [28:57] that we're providing proper pathways [28:59] for people to identify what it is [29:01] that they want to do with their lives? [29:02] I do. [29:03] We made Maryland the first state in the country [29:05] that now has a service year option [29:07] for all of our high school graduates. [29:09] Where every high school graduate now has a chance [29:10] to have a paid year service to the state of Maryland. [29:13] And they can do it however they want to do it, [29:16] but it's because we want them all to feel part of a community [29:19] and to feel part of, and this idea that in this time [29:21] with this political divisiveness and vitriol, [29:24] that service will save us. [29:25] You have said a number of times [29:27] in a number of ways that you're not running in 2028. [29:29] Is that still the case? [29:30] That, yeah, I have said it multiple times [29:34] and it is still the case. [29:35] And, you know, and I think about it this way, [29:37] where I like, I don't come from a background [29:40] of just like running for this office [29:43] to run for this office to run for this office. [29:45] And like, you know, [29:46] I don't understand that. [29:48] I ran for governor for a simple reason. [29:51] I wanted to address the issue of child poverty in my state. [29:55] I wanted to address the issue of violence in my state [29:58] and we're doing it. [30:00] And so I'm going back and I'm laser focused [30:03] on asking the people of my state [30:04] for their vote again in November, [30:06] because I know that we've got a lot of good work done [30:09] and I know that we're ready to do some more. [30:11] With that said, what is a quality [30:13] that you think the next president needs to have? [30:16] You know, I think that [30:17] we need to make sure that we're not just explaining [30:22] what's going wrong, but we're showing what can go right. [30:28] You know, I think that Donald Trump [30:30] has been a fantastic vessel for the frustration. [30:33] He's just not a vehicle for the solution. [30:36] And he had no desire to be that. [30:38] That I think that, you know, we cannot, [30:41] and we're not gonna just get away with saying, [30:44] look at how bad Donald Trump is, [30:46] because that is a, you know, [30:48] you're never gonna win long-term on anger. [30:51] You gotta be able to show what an alternative looks like. [30:54] You are watching things like the federal government, [30:57] who is spending their time raising prices on everything [31:02] through tariff policies and tax policies. [31:04] And you see how us as governors, [31:06] that if you look in the state of Maryland, [31:08] where, you know, I've cut taxes for the middle class, [31:12] we've actually made sure that we provide additional SNAP [31:15] and food assistance for our people, [31:17] particularly when the federal government was pulling it away. [31:19] When you watch how the federal government [31:21] was firing federal workers, [31:23] over 25,000 federal workers have been fired [31:25] outside of the state of Maryland, [31:26] more than any other state in this country. [31:28] And what did we then decide to do? [31:30] We then decided to say, how are we focusing [31:31] and working with the private sector to get them employed? [31:34] How are we doing innovative things like our feds to eds [31:37] and getting federal workers into the education space? [31:40] So we're showing not just that we push back, [31:44] but we're showing what it means to push forward. [31:47] Do you feel you have in mind what the situation is [31:50] the next president is likely to face in January of 2029? [31:53] I think that we are gonna see how the next president, [31:58] I think there's really five buckets [32:02] that the next president is gonna have to figure out [32:04] what everything falls into. [32:07] I think you're gonna have what's broken and irreparable. [32:11] I think you're gonna have what's broken and can be fixed. [32:14] I think you're gonna have what's broken [32:16] and needs to be fixed differently. [32:19] I think you're gonna have what survives, [32:22] but needs to be broken. [32:24] And I think you're gonna have what survived [32:26] and needs to be sustained. [32:28] And I think everything falls into those five buckets. [32:31] But I think we've gotta remember [32:34] that there is a bit of a BCAD moment [32:38] for this presidency that Donald Trump is introducing [32:42] and what he is doing and the chaos he is causing. [32:45] But I think that the answer cannot simply be, [32:48] well, now we've just got to put everything back together [32:52] without an understanding of, [32:53] well, how did this country for a second time [32:56] allow him back into the Oval Office? [32:59] There was something functionally broken [33:02] and why the process wasn't working for real families [33:06] and real people, families like mine. [33:09] And what we have to do to think about this [33:12] in a very clear and sober way, [33:15] that it's not just about building this thing back, [33:19] but understanding why this thing was broken [33:21] before Donald Trump even ran again. [33:24] Governor Moore, it's a pleasure talking with you. [33:25] Thank you very much. [33:26] It's a pleasure to be with you. [33:27] Thank you. [33:28] I enjoyed that, thank you. [33:28] Me too, me too. [33:29] Wow. [33:30] That was great. [33:31] I could do another half hour. [33:32] You got another half hour? [33:33] I know, I know, that's great. [33:33] What do you think, another half hour? [33:34] No, no, no, no, we got some part twos coming. [33:39] Wow. [33:39] That was great. [33:40] Yeah, I'm trying to be respectful of your time, [33:42] but I would have asked, [33:43] what is a thing that is likely to survive [33:45] that needs to be broken? [33:46] Oh, I can give you a laundry list. [33:49] No, I mean, honestly, for example, [33:52] and again, we're still early. [33:54] Yeah. [33:55] And everyone might not agree with me on this, [33:59] but for example, pardons. [34:03] I would take the pardon power away, [34:04] the pardon power away from the president [34:06] and every single governor. [34:08] And this is actually really hard for me because, [34:12] so last year I did the largest mass pardon [34:16] in the history of the United States of America, [34:18] where I pardoned over 175,000 [34:22] misdemeanor cannabis convictions in the stroke of a pen, [34:24] because I think it is absurd [34:26] that we can have a legal cannabis market [34:28] inside of the state of Maryland, [34:30] but I also still have people who, [34:32] and so we have a new billion dollar market in Maryland, [34:34] and I still have people who can't get a barber's license [34:37] or can't get a student loan or can't get a home loan [34:41] for a misdemeanor cannabis conviction from the 1990s, right? [34:45] I'm really proud of how I've used the pardon power. [34:49] And I see how the president of the United States on day one, [34:52] he pardoned people who attempted a coup on January 6th. [34:58] He's pardoning people that are now turning around [35:02] and investing in his kid's business. [35:05] It is disgusting and it's a grift. [35:08] And as thankful as I am to be one of only 51 people [35:14] in the world, [35:15] who can pardon an American for something, right? [35:18] Only 51 people have that power. [35:20] And I'm grateful to be one of them. [35:23] If that's how it's gonna be used, [35:26] I would take it from all of us. [35:28] And that's one example. [35:29] Wow, okay. [35:31] Thank you. [35:33] Newsmakers relies on supporters [35:35] who value independent journalism and a free press. [35:38] There's some easy ways to support this program. [35:40] First, you can subscribe. [35:42] And second, you can join NPR Plus today [35:45] to support our work and get perks [35:47] from the podcasts you trust. [35:48] To do that, [35:49] visit nprplus.npr.org.