Moore, Cox seek less partisanship, differ on Trump

Two young rising political stars from Utah and Maryland offered different visions of how they rate the turmoil in the national political climate, but both highlighted their hope for a less partisan future, during a National Press Club newsmaker lunch on Sept. 4.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, shared the stage and shared their hope for more political cooperation and a greater emphasis on qualities besides party affiliation.

Moore continued his recent criticism of President Donald Trump, whom he accused of undermining democracy by attempting to get around the court system and the legislative branch.

“We’re talking about the preservation of democracy,” said Moore, 46, who accused Trump of “an unprecedented overreach and grab.”

“Are we going to watch people just sit silently,?” Moore asked. “We have to show people that these (laws) are worth fighting for.”

By contrast, Cox said he frequently reminds Americans that the country saw far worse political turmoil in this country during the Civil War “when 600,000 people died” and the 1960s when “rough things” happened.

Cox, 50, said: “I think our institutions are holding,” and added: “We have to do stuff. We’ve gotten very bad at doing stuff in this country.”

Even though he supports Trump, worked to ban the use of fluoride in Utah drinking water, got rid of DEI efforts, and signed a ban on gender-affirming care for minors, Cox positions himself as a moderate willing to work with Democrats and said he regrets that people are so polarized today.

Cox expressed gratitude for getting help from U.S. Immigration and Border Control agents to help round up immigrants. He gave an example of 160 people in Utah who had previously broken laws and were here without proper documentation; ICE began tracking them down.

“I believe we are a country of immigrants and we have to decide who comes and when they come…You don't fix it with an open border,” Cox said, adding: immigrants are “overwhelming our systems.”

By comparison, Moore ridiculed Trump’s use of National Guard forces from several states to provide a visible military presence in the District of Columbia beginning August 12.

Local elected leaders are mostly opposed to the action, with polls indicating a similar level of resistance from residents, but Trump has claimed the guard has made DC safe.

“I am deeply offended by what we are seeing from the White House right now,” Moore said. “It’s massively performative…the national guard being asked to come to DC and rake mulch and pick up trash.”

He reiterated his offer for Trump to walk the streets of Baltimore with him to see the streets first hand and said he would never let Maryland National Guard units be deployed to DC.

The event was held in front of more than 100 people in the ballroom and was moderated by NPC President Mike Balsamo.

The two governors, both bald, joked about their “great hair” and took pains to praise one another repeatedly, though Cox acknowledged that most everyone in the room was there to hear from Moore, not him.

Cox and Moore both said they love to see high school students do public service and they both hate gerrymandering, though Cox pointed out that it often comes down to who is calling the shots. Cox took a shot at Democrats and media elites who are “dismissive” of Trump's ‘Make America Great Again,’ or MAGA supporters.

“Some in the media are very dismissive of the MAGA types…look down their noses at them as uneducated and lesser people,” Cox said. Now those MAGA people “really do want to burn it all down. There is nothing more unamerican than hating our fellow Americans.” Moore nodded his head in agreement.

Moore, whose full name is Westley Watende Omari Moore, was born in Maryland and raised mainly in New York, the son of a former TV reporter who once worked for the NBC 4 affiliate in DC, WRC.

Cox, who is related by marriage to the singing group the Osmonds and is one of eight children, founded an effort called ‘Disagree Better’ to bring people together when he was a leader of the National Governors Association; he brought his wife Abby to the newsmaker lunch.