Maryland Gov. Wes Moore caught my eye in recent days for a number of interesting moves — beginning with his unusual decision to deliver a speech on July 4th.
On its face, the address was not exactly unique. Several Democratic leaders, including Zohran Mamdani and Gavin Newsom, delivered their own prebuttals ahead of President Trump’s appearance on the National Mall. But with Newsom largely hewing to his typical stump speech (he invoked Trump’s name once every forty seconds on average), and Mamdani mostly defending immigrants, Moore stood out.
His speech dealt in the kinds of lofty ideas usually reserved for national leaders, praising “true patriotism” while decrying the rise of nationalism, a continuation of a theme Moore has been pushing for over a year now. The address, which was also the longest of the three Democrats’ and the only one to be delivered live on the 4th itself, also provided a stark contrast to both Trump’s rambling appearance later that day and the relative absence of Democrats’ congressional leaders.
The next day, Moore appeared on Jubilee’s Surrounded, making him only the second potential 2028er (after Rep. Ro Khanna) to make a stop in that infamous studio. Together, both indicated that Moore, who is likely to win re-election this November in a landslide, is pivoting back towards the national stage, after months of fighting a war with the media in his backyard. They also point to his emerging success in carving a niche out ahead of the 2028 contest.
A marker of the mood
What was most interesting to me this past week, though, was Moore’s full-throated praise for the newly launched “Trump accounts.” If you’re unfamiliar, this is a new federal program, created by Republicans’ tax law last year, that offers parents and close relatives the option to begin contributing to an investment account for a child at birth. It was one of the One Big Beautiful Bill’s lesser-known provisions, eclipsed by its much more sweeping impact on tax rates and Medicaid, but it has been an increasing focus for the administration in public.
The accounts, explicitly named after the president in the law, have drawn criticism from some leading Democrats. Last year, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer declared in a floor speech that the program was part of an effort to “sabotage Social Security from within.” That made it all the more notable on Tuesday when Moore praised the accounts, which launched July 4th, as “smart policy” and “an important tool” for reducing the racial wealth gap and ending child poverty. When the White House elevated his comments the next day, he notably doubled down.
The comments from Moore are hard to disconnect from race. Many Black politicians and activists have, in recent years, increasingly focused on the racial wealth gap, which has grown even as other racial disparities have narrowed. It’s not a coincidence, for example, that Sen. Cory Booker, who has repeatedly pushed a plan to establish savings accounts for every baby in America, has praised the Trump administration’s policy as “a step in the right direction.”
The willingness of Moore, who has clashed with the administration repeatedly, to go to bat for the policy points to one of the reasons he remains a wildcard in the 2028 contest. Moore remains the only Black governor in the country, is only the third Black governor ever elected, and leads the state with the fourth-largest Black population in the country. As such, he is uniquely equipped to give voice to long-simmering frustration among Black Democrats, who have watched even Democratic administrations be unable to change a stagnating economic picture. Even if he does not end up running in 2028, Moore’s ability to represent Black Democrats’ sentiments could make him a unique force in the primary contest — one semi-retired Democratic veteran I know called Moore’s standing an emerging “superpower.”
Room for disagreement
Politics aside, not everyone agrees with Moore’s assessment of the policy itself. Andre Perry, the director of the Center for Community Uplift at the Brookings Institution, recently wrote a worthy piece that contrasts the country’s 250th anniversary with the modern racial wealth gap. He told me he’s not impressed by the policy and believes it could actually worsen the problem. “Trump Accounts provide another vehicle to increase the racial wealth gap because wealthier parents simply have greater capacity and greater likelihood to contribute to retirement accounts and similar college savings accounts,” he said. He’s also worried about the program sapping energy from more systemic reforms. “Corporations would rather contribute to funds that advantage the wealthy, passing it off as providing opportunity, than pay taxes and have those resources go to means-tested programs.”
There’s at least some evidence already that the program has some deep flaws. The WSJ reported that “Financial planners say the [name] could influence participation rates, especially among families skeptical of Trump or wary of government-managed investment programs.” And a study from the Urban Institute found young Americans, Black Americans, and the poorest Americans to be the least aware of the program.
Worthy reads
Mary Spicuzza and Jessie Opoien of the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal report that Francesca Hong, a state representative who stands a good chance of becoming the first democratic socialist nominated for governor in the modern era, called the police on an anti-Israel protest in 2023.
Politico’s Arianna Skibbel checks in on the practical impacts of the growing data center revolt. Spoiler alert: it’s real.
CBS’s Joe Brandt reports on another man who was arrested for threatening Josh Shapiro.
Stefanos Chen at the New York Times details an ambitious plan from Kathy Hochul and Zohran Mamdani to expedite transit time in NYC without providing Mamdani’s promised free buses, another example of Hochul quietly steering Mamdani to her preferred policy destinations.
The Atlantic’s Howell Raines does a deep dive on the Alabama gubernatorial race, a rematch between Sen. Tommy Tuberville and former Sen. Doug Jones, and how the state’s “lurch toward modernity” could make the race more interesting than many expect.
And Thomas Frank at Politico reports on the Trump administration rejecting yet another round of disaster relief from Democratic-run states, continuing a long-running theme in the second Trump term.
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