Maryland Governor Wes Moore (D) appeared during the second hour of Tuesday’s CBS Mornings. The segment, which was little more than a puff interview, included a plethora of fawning statements from the governor for the Biden administration, as well as a reiteration of his refusal to accept a possible vice presidential pick.

Co-host Vlad Duthiers opened with a foolish question about circumstances that might affect the Moore’s decision, wondering, “If she said to you, ‘Governor, I need you, America needs you, would you join me on this ticket,’ would you say no?” 

Naturally, the Democratic governor fervently affirmed, “I would do anything to make sure that the vice president becomes the next president of the United States, but I'm not going anywhere.” He then launched into his first (of several) self-promotional monologue, bragging about his administration's accomplishments, including the pardon of 175,000 people for cannabis convictions. 

 

 

Clearly dissatisfied, Duthiers dully posed the same question, but reworded. The governor returned with a similar answer, this time sprinkled with the appropriate demure and humble platitudes.

Co-host Tony Dokoupil asked the only substantial question of the entire segment, pressing Moore on a “credibility issue” for Democrats. He cited polls that demonstrated a significantly dwindling trust in the party among American voters:

There are polls showing that Americans are not likely to trust Democrats in the aftermath of these years, and then months, and then days of them telling the public, ‘Joe Biden is just fine and he doesn't suffer any kind of age issues, and on top of that, he's gonna stay in the race.’ And this goes right to Kamala Harris, as well, who, in the aftermath of that disastrous debate on July–last month, said, ‘Ah, it's just a slow start.’ So, how do you address that credibility gap with the American public going forward?

Governor Moore’s response unsurprisingly reflected the praise President Joe Biden had been receiving lately from the media, following his decision to abandon his reelection campaign, which included several comparisons to prominent historical figures. He dutifully added his own honeyed words into the mix and even attributed his own achievements to the support of the Biden administration.

Moore closed by insisting that Vice President Kamala Harris was the perfect successor to the presidency and was the only option in the name of continued progress, “not because we were afraid of the alternative, but it's because we're hopeful for the future of what it can be if you can give us another four years of that kind of leadership.”

Ironically, Dokoupil seemed less than impressed, dismissing the governor’s endorsement with a pivot to baseball and the Baltimore Orioles’ number one ranking in the American League (AL) Eastl, remarking, “We can end on that note and applaud.”

The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:

CBS Mornings

7/23/2024

08:12:07 AM EST

VLAD DUTHIERS: Maryland Governor Wes Moore has formally backed Kamala Harris to be the next president of the United States, but he says he has, quote, “No interest in being her running mate,” if she gets the nod. Governor Moore joins us now from Annapolis, Maryland. Good morning, governor. Good to see you.

GOVERNOR WES MOORE: Good morning. It’s good to see you, too.

DUTHIERS: So, let me just ask you. You spoke with the vice president. You told her that you love being governor of the great state of Maryland, but are you telling us that if she said to you, “Governor, I need you, America needs you, would you join me on this ticket,” you would say no?

MOORE: I would–I would do anything to make sure that the–that the vice president becomes the next president of the United States, but I'm not going anywhere. You know, I've said very clearly and very directly to the team that I love my job. I love the work we're doing. 

And if you look at the progress in the state of Maryland–we went from being 43rd in unemployment to now having 12 straight months of all–amongst the lowest unemployment rates in the entire country. We’ve had historic drops and led in historic drops of violent crime. We are able to pardon 175,000 people for cannabis convictions because we now–people are getting punished for something that’s no longer illegal. We’re the first state in the country to have a service year option. 

I love the momentum that we're seeing in the state of Maryland. I want to be the governor for the state of Maryland, and I have no intention of leaving to do anything else.

DUTHIERS: Okay. It's an impressive track record. But let me just ask, under what circumstances, then, might you join Vice President Harris on the ticket?

(Laughs)

GAYLE KING: Another way of asking the question. Come on, Governor Moore!

(Laughs)

TONY DOKOUPIL: Clearly enjoying the question, Governor Moore.

KING: Yes, yes. 

DUTHIERS: Yeah. (Laughs).

KING: Yes.

MOORE: No. And lis–I appreciate the–and it's very humbling, the fact that people from around the country have–have continued to–to put us in the conversation. And it is very humbling, and I sincerely appreciate it, and I sincerely have no interest. I'm excited to be the governor of the state of Maryland.

KING: Well, clearly you are. Listen, you were sworn in in January 2023, and the statistics that you just told us about, what you've done in that short period of time, as Vlad said, are extremely impressive. So if not you, what type of vice presidential candidate do you think she needs that gives her the best chance of winning in November? 

I don't know if you want to name names, but if you don't want to name names, you can certainly tell us the qualities that you think would make a difference here, and maybe where he or she should be from.

MOORE: Yeah. I think that the number one thing the vice president needs to think through is who's the person that she's comfortable with. This is a deeply personal decision and not one that you need to approach with box-checking or looking at, “Well, what does this person give me or that person give me?” 

You know, I thought about it when I selected my running mate to be my lieutenant governor. I did not make the selection based on box-checking. In fact, many people, when I told them, you know, I picked a woman of color. You know, I picked a woman who became the first immigrant ever elected to statewide office in the history of the state of Maryland.

And people said, “Well, you know, that's dangerous because Maryland has never even had a black governor before.” And I said, the truth is is that everything seems impossible until it isn't anymore. 

KING: Hmm.

DUTHIERS: Yeah.

MOORE: And, you know, the people who weren't gonna support me in that way, they weren't gonna support me even if I selected a woman of color to be my running mate. So, I think this is just a very deep–deeply personal decision that the vice president has to go through, and I think that's the most important thing that she has to–to has to keep in mind.

DOKOUPIL: Governor Moore, I want to get you on the record on a campaign matter. And it's a credibility issue, potentially, for Democrats. There are polls showing that Americans are not likely to trust Democrats in the aftermath of these years, and then months, and then days of them telling the public, “Joe Biden is just fine and he doesn't suffer any kind of age issues, and on top of that, he's gonna stay in the race.” 

And this goes right to Kamala Harris, as well, who, in the aftermath of that disastrous debate on July–last month, said, “Ah, it's just a slow start.” So, how do you address that credibility gap with the American public going forward?

MOORE: You know, my support of President Biden really baked on a few points. One is, you know, he's just a man of tremendous decency and honor, and I think that his legacy of 50-plus years to this country, and legacy of leadership for 50-plus years, is something that should be honored, and loyalty should count for something. 

But I also think this. Results matter. You know, I look at what's happened even in our state, just in the past 18 months where I've been the governor, where we have a measure of momentum that is just completely undeniable around–you know, when–as you're looking at the way that Maryland is moving when it comes to economic growth, when the looks–with the way that Maryland is moving when it comes to being able to invest in new industries and actually, you know, bring pe–more people back into the workforce. 

All these things have been done in partnership with the Biden/Harris administration and, so, the reason that I think so many people, you know, were so excited about a Biden/Harris administration getting another four years, and now President Harris–uh, Vice President Harris becoming President Harris, is not because we were afraid of the alternative, but it's because we're hopeful for the future of what it can be if you can give us another four years of that kind of leadership. And, so, I think it's track record that continue to allow people…

DOKOUPIL: Yeah. Governor? 

MOORE: …to know, and understand, and believe that we could–that we can go forward.

KING: So, what you're saying is we'll see you in 2028 or 2032. Got it.

(Laughs)

DOKOUPIL: Governor Wes Moore, our Orioles are number one in the AL East. We can end on that note and applaud. Thank you very much. ‘Preciate it.

(...)