HBCU graduates cheer for Wes Moore to run for president. Here’s what he has to say about 2028
TheGrio...
EXCLUSIVE: During an interview with theGrio, Maryland’s first Black governor hints at the kind of leadership the nation needs and says calls for him to pursue the White House in 2028 are “humbling.”
Maryland Governor Wes Moore delivered the commencement address at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, N.C., on Sunday, urging the HBCU class of 2026 to be leaders who “fight” for something amid the “greatest assault on Black voter representation that we have seen in generations.”
“You are entering the world in the middle of a battle. And we need you all to soldier up,” Moore told the 200 graduates. “If you don’t fight for our folks, who will? We know who’s attacking them. We now need to know who’s going to fight for them.”
As Moore gave the young scholars a message of urgency and hope as they embark into their professions, Maryland’s first Black governor was met with calls to run for president.
“Future president!” yelled out an audience member as Moore was hooded and received his honorary doctorate. The audience inside the Bojangles Coliseum erupted in loud applause as Moore smiled and laughed at the adoration.
“I wanted to say it but I couldn’t,” said JCSU President Dr. Valerie Kinloch, who led the audience in more chants for Moore to run for president. She jokingly added, “I didn’t say it!”
During a phone interview with theGrio Monday morning, Gov. Moore said the moment was “humbling,” but was sure to keep the focus on his re-election campaign, bringing the attention back to Maryland politics rather than Washington, D.C., and any perceived aspirations for higher office.
“It’s very humbling that people are paying attention to what’s happening in Maryland. I’m proud of our results,” Moore told theGrio.
The 47-year-old, first-term governor touted the state’s historic drop in violent crime, which he noted is the “fastest drop” in the country, as well as adding 55,000 new businesses, raising the minimum wage, enacting paid family leave and investments in HBCUs and statewide apprenticeshps.
“I’m really proud of what we’ve done, and also how we’ve done it, but I think the people of my state know that I am laser focused on November,” he explained, adding, “We’re not just trying to win in November, we’re trying to send a message about how we win in November as well.”
Moore’s disciplined campaign for a second term will likely do nothing to stop the speculation or calls for him to pursue a run for the White House. It is expected that Democrats, regrouping after Kamala Harris‘ upset defeat to President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, will see a laundry list of contenders for the party’s nomination in 2028.
Moore, a former U.S. Army lieutenant and Rhodes Scholar, has repeatedly said he is not running for president whenever asked; though it has done little to stop the questions.
When asked what type of leadership is needed in 2028 considering how President Trump has led in his second term, Moore told theGrio, “I think we need people who are focused on action…we need people who do what they say they’re going to do, and actually have results and receipts.”
Continuing to distance between himself from a pursuit of the presidency, Moore elaborated: “I want somebody that isn’t just pushing back, I want someone who has the capacity to push forward, and that I think is going to be a key criteria.”
During his Sunday commencement address, Gov. Moore encouraged the graduates of Johnson C. Smith University to be their own leaders — the kind of leadership some may feel is missing in this moment.
“You’re going to have to walk into leadership spaces where, frankly, we have people who have very big titles who are doing absolutely nothing with them. You are walking into a society where people are intentionally using their power to hurt other people who don’t have the same amount of power,” said Moore.
“We need you in these spaces. We need you in these rooms. We need you to lead with values, with love – unapologetic and unafraid,” he added. “We need you to be able to go into the rooms where you belong. We need you to build better systems. We need you to leave no one behind.”