When I sat down with Governor Wes Moore, the contrast between responsible leadership and Donald Trump’s reckless buffoonery could not have been starker. Just days after Russia’s drones encroached into Poland, a NATO ally, a moment that should have prompted a steady, sober response from the commander in chief, Trump’s reaction was to stumble onto Fox News and spew Russian talking points. Instead of defending NATO, instead of affirming America’s commitments, he babbled like a late-night comic gone off-script, inventing wars he “solved” and confusing allies in a moment of global crisis. It was pathetic, but more importantly, it was dangerous.
Governor Moore, who enlisted in the U.S. Army at 17 and led soldiers in combat, understands what leadership under pressure really means. As he told me, leadership requires three things: technical competence, common sense, and caring for your people. Trump demonstrates none of the above. Instead, his “team” consists of sycophants who stroke his ego for hours rather than educate him on policy. It’s government by delusion, cabinet meetings as loyalty parades, while America’s credibility burns.
While Trump downplayed Russian drones and bragged about imaginary diplomatic triumphs, the Supreme Allied Commander of Europe, a U.S. Air Force general, was in Brussels outlining NATO’s real response: decisive, coordinated, layered defenses across the alliance. That is what leadership looks like—unity, seriousness, clarity of mission. Trump, meanwhile, reduces foreign policy to a punchline and a Ponzi scheme of lies. As I told Governor Moore, watching Trump invent $79 trillion of revenue out of thin air is like watching a con artist repeat, “just two more weeks, we’re almost there.” Where have we heard that before? It’s would be parody if it didn’t have such grave consequences for millions of American families.
Governor Moore pointed out what Trump’s lies can’t conceal. Americans see their grocery bills, their energy costs, their housing prices, and their wages. They don’t live in Trump’s fantasy world; they live in the real economy, where his tariffs, tax giveaways to the rich, and dismantling of federal protections have made life harder for working people. Maryland, meanwhile, is doing the opposite, cutting middle-class taxes, raising the minimum wage, and investing in public schools and health care.
What stood out most in my conversation with Governor Moore was his emphasis on seriousness. Policy, he reminded me, is not a reality show. It’s not performative stunts like sending troops into cities to play police. It’s not holding rallies where Fox News alums call the Pentagon the “Department of War” and praise Trump as though he were a North Korean strongman. Seriousness means having subject-matter experts at the table, people who challenge you and expand your understanding, not flatterers who spend three hours in cabinet meetings singing your praises.
Governor Moore is proving that model in Maryland. When Trump fires federal workers, Moore transitions them into roles addressing teacher shortages. When Trump gives tax breaks to billionaires, Moore invests in middle-class families. When Trump fabricates foreign policy victories, Moore focuses on reducing violent crime, expanding apprenticeships, and pardoning 175,000 cannabis convictions to deliver justice.
As we discussed, in this era of dysfunction at the federal level, governors matter more than ever. Moore’s reelection campaign is about showing that there is a better way. Under his leadership, Baltimore’s homicide rate dropped to its lowest point in decades. Maryland’s unemployment plummeted from near the bottom of the national rankings to among the lowest in the country. When the Key Bridge collapsed, his administration cleared the federal channel in 11 weeks, not the 11 months experts predicted.
That’s the work of a leader. That’s competence, clarity, and compassion in action.
Trump is not just unserious. He is incapable of seriousness. He doesn’t want to be educated. He doesn’t want to govern. He wants applause. He wants sycophants. He wants to live in his own fantasy world while the rest of us pay the price.
Governor Wes Moore represents the antidote. His leadership is rooted in reality, in data, in service, and in a vision of government that lifts people up instead of tearing them down. In Maryland, he’s proving that you can be fiscally disciplined and humane, that you can reduce crime and expand opportunity, that you can govern responsibly without leaving anyone behind.
That’s why I encourage everyone to pay attention not just to the presidential circus but to the governors and local leaders who are building a better future right now. As Moore himself said, this is Maryland’s decade. It could be America’s decade too, if we reject Trump’s Ponzi politics and demand leaders with competence, compassion, and courage.
Because the stakes are not theoretical. Russia sent drones into Poland. NATO allies are under threat. Families across America are struggling with higher costs. And the White House is occupied by a man who responds to crisis with gibberish, propaganda, and lies.
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