Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is on an Independence Day collision course with President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
Moore is planning to deliver a sweeping speech on patriotism on July Fourth from the Maryland State House in Annapolis \u2014 with the aim of counterprogramming what Trump promised<\/a> would be the “most spectacular TRUMP RALLY of them all, a \u2018TRIBUTE TO AMERICA.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n In an interview with POLITICO, Moore said he thinks Trump is going to spend the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding talking about himself \u2014 but that America deserves something more.<\/p>\n \u201cThe president is incapable of meeting the moment,\u201d Moore said. <\/p>\n In his split-screen remarks, called \u201cThe Work of Patriotism,\u201d the former Army captain and Afghanistan veteran is expected to \u201cmake the case that Democrats cannot cede patriotism to Donald Trump \u2014 and that love of country is not about loyalty to one man, one party, or one political spectacle,\u201d according to Ammar Moussa, Moore\u2019s press secretary.<\/p>\n Moore will \u201cdraw a contrast between patriotism and nationalism, making the case that nationalism is about allegiance to a person or a movement, while patriotism is about allegiance to the country and the people who make it worth fighting for,\u201d Moussa said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are a nation of strength because we are a nation of sacrifice,\u201d Moore will say, according to a draft of his remarks.<\/p>\n But Moore insisted he\u2019s not trying to be a foil to the president.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m trying to be a foil to darkness,\u201d Moore said. \u201cI think I’m trying to be a foil to fatalism. I think I\u2019m trying to be a foil to self-serving ideologies. What I want people to know in all this is that I believe strongly that we need a future-facing vision for this nation.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s exactly what someone who\u2019s \u201cnot running\u201d<\/a> for president would say, right? Standard Maryland gubernatorial reelection fare.<\/p>\n The speech follows a pattern of growing visibility for Moore. He\u2019s been on numerous podcasts and in new media. The day after his speech, he\u2019s expected to appear on an episode of Jubilee\u2019s \u201cSurrounded,\u201d a booking that\u2019s becoming routine for prominent Democratic figures such as Pete Buttigieg, Texas Senate candidate James Talarico and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.).<\/p>\n On Saturday, Moore is heading to battleground Michigan, a potential early 2028 primary state, where he\u2019ll stump for gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson in Detroit, Saginaw and Flint \u2014 all pivotal locales to win reelection in Maryland, of course.<\/p>\n Moore has said he\u2019s \u201claser-focused\u201d on his 2026 reelection campaign. Or, as he explained in an interview with POLITICO\u2019s Jonathan Martin<\/a>: \u201cI\u2019m hungry, but I\u2019m not thirsty.”<\/p>\n The Maryland governor also had his own thoughts about what the progressive victories in New York\u2019s primaries mean, and how that insurgent energy could be harnessed by 2028 Democrats.<\/p>\n \u201cI think harnessing the energy means driving for the results that people are aspiring to,\u201d Moore said, citing primary wins in his own backyard too: \u201cI created an entire slate, the Leave No One Behind<\/a> slate in Maryland that was wildly successful, and if you look at the candidates that I endorsed and supported, you can’t find an ideological thread in them. We endorsed the progressive legislator from Montgomery County, and we supported the prosecutor in Baltimore County.\u201d<\/p>\n In fact, Moore endorsed some 200 candidates across the state, and his advisers say 93 percent have either won or are in the lead.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat connects them is a belief that the status quo has got to be disrupted,\u201d Moore said.<\/p>\n Like this content? Consider signing up for POLITICO’s Playbook newsletter<\/a>. <\/p>\n