Moore, the vice chair of the National Governors Association, spoke with the Associated Press in Washington at the start of his trip for the governors group’s annual conference, where the focus on national politics is often on governors in the middle of high-stakes state fights. In the interview, Moore was asked about Trump’s recent attention on him, including what Moore described as personal criticism and what Moore framed as an issue of jurisdiction.
Moore said he is not sure why Trump has stepped up criticism and told the AP, “The short answer is I don’t know. I cannot get into the president’s psyche.” Moore added, “I pray for him and I just feel bad for him because that has just got to be a really, really hard existence.”
Asked about Trump’s remarks around a sewage spill that has spoiled the Potomac River, Moore said he thinks the president is making a connection that does not fit the facts as Moore understands them. Moore said the pipe is a Washington, D.C., system on federal land and argued, “How this has anything to do with Maryland, I have no idea,” adding that the only link is that, after the spill, “I ordered our team to assist Washington, D.C.”
Moore also responded to a question about whether Trump’s criticism is personal, saying he has “no desire” to have “beef” with the president. He described his view of the relationship with Trump as not being rooted in a desire for confrontation, saying he did not run for governor with the intention to go “toe to toe” with the president.
On redistricting, Moore said he met with Hakeem Jeffries, and he described his expectations as centered on procedure. Moore said the state legislature needs to take up the map and that “All we’re asking for is a vote,” adding, “And however the vote goes, however the vote goes. But that’s democracy.”
Moore said he does not see his redistricting role as simply helping one party. Instead, he said he is focused on checks and balances, saying he believes “we have an unchecked executive and right now Congress does not seem interested in actually doing its job and establishing real checks and balances.” Moore also said he sees Trump as the catalyst for turning redistricting into a mid-decade conversation, saying: “This would not be an issue had it not been for Donald Trump bringing this up and introduced this into the ecosystem.”
The interview also touched on Black History Month and Trump’s relationship with the Black community. Moore said he believes Trump has had a “complicated history” and, in his remarks, cited litigation involving Trump’s treatment of Black tenants, Trump’s role in birtherism, and what Moore described as efforts to ban books about Black history. Moore also said he was not sure what “anyone is going to gain” from an event by Trump about Black history.
On the question of whether governors might be the next presidential nominees, Moore said he sees governors as politically pivotal and that it is “never mattered more who your governor is.” He also argued that polarization reflects personality and said, “You stay consistent with who you are,” adding that if a politician is polarizing, “then that’s just who you are. That’s just never been me.”