The following is a transcript of an interview with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, on “Face the Nation” that aired on June 30, 2024.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Good morning and welcome to Face The Nation. We begin this morning with reaction to the first presidential debate of 2024. Our polling unit asked voters how they view the candidates now, including their cognitive health. The results are not encouraging for the president. The number of voters who say President Biden has the cognitive ability to serve has dropped from 35% earlier this month to 27% after the debate. That’s the lowest number since CBS began asking voters that question last September. Nearly three quarters of all registered voters now say he shouldn’t be running. And nearly half of Democrats say he shouldn’t remain the nominee. An extraordinary number for an incumbent who didn’t face a competitive primary. We should also note that half of all voters also say former President Trump does not have the cognitive health to serve. Voters give former President Trump a significant edge, though, when asked which candidate explained his ideas clearly, inspired confidence, and appeared presidential. Joining us now to discuss all of this is Maryland Governor Wes Moore. He’s in Milwaukee where he has been campaigning for President Biden’s reelection this weekend. Welcome back, Governor.
GOV. WES MOORE: Thank you so much, great to be with you.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Governor, you know, it wasn’t a good night for the president. And- and I’ll save us time because I know you’re going to tell us, look at presidential performance, not debate performance, everyone has a bad night, Barack Obama once had a bad night. But you know, at 81 years old, this is a different set of factors for President Biden. Why was he struggling Thursday?
GOV. MOORE: Well, I- I think both candidates struggled. I don’t think either candidate had a- had a very good night on the- on the debate night. But I also do know that it does matter when we’re looking at presidential performance, and not necessarily debate performance. You know, I- I think that when you have a situation where you have to articulate your vision for the future of the country, where we did have the president, who has been showing his vision for this country for the past three years, that does matter to individuals, it matters to all of us as the chief executives of our states. And truthfully, on the other side, I don’t think it should be lost on anybody that, you know, hearing Donald Trump talking about things like politicians who want to kill babies after they’re born, or black jobs, or saying that everything was great on January 6. That is really- that is remarkably problematic for people to be able to hear. So, you know, so it wasn’t a great night for the president or for Donald Trump. But I also do know that performance does matter.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But respectfully, Governor, the President doesn’t do many interviews. He doesn’t do things where we he- we have to see him be quick on his feet. He’s not here, you are.
GOV. MOORE: Well, I–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –He’s not on the campaign trail as often–
GOV. MOORE: –Yes–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –As surrogates like you are. Isn’t that demonstrating that there are alternatives, Democratic alternatives, who are younger and able to go out and be quick on their feet and on the trail?
GOV. MOORE: I- I- I- I know I got a chance to see the president when times were difficult and see him in trials. Just three months ago, when- when in the middle of the night, we found out that a vessel that was the size of the Eiffel Tower had just shut down the Port of Baltimore, which is responsible for 13% of our economy. The first phone call that I got from the White House was at 3:30 that morning, and when I- with a president who was saying that he was like, gov, we’re gonna be with you every step of the way. And he has been. I have seen the President challenged, I have seen him in times of trial. I’ve seen- I’ve seen him in tiles- in times of turbulence. And I’ve seen him been able to be a remarkable partner to us. And that’s what I remember. And that’s why I continue to believe that- that the Biden administration deserves another four years and I’m excited about what that can deliver for the American people.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Why was the president struggling?
GOV. MOORE: I think the President had a tough night.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Why?
GOV. MOORE: All of us have difficult nights. Well, I think that the President had a had a difficult night, just like every single one of us do. But I think that we know that when we get knocked down, we get back up. And that’s the important thing that I think that we showed with the president where the day after having a- having not his greatest night, not having a great debate that he was right back in North Carolina campaigning–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –Yeah.
GOV. MOORE: And going and speaking to the people that- that just the day but the next morning after he was up working with Congress to ensure that we can get a 100% cost share on rebuilding the Key Bridge. He got back up and he got back to work.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But–
GOV. MOORE: –And that’s the thing I think people need to remember all of us get knocked down.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Governor, I know that Democrats believe that abortion is a winning issue in this election. Here’s what the American people heard from the President when he was asked about abortion.
[BEGIN SOT]
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Look, there’s so many young women who’ve been, including a young woman who just was murdered, and he went to the funeral. The idea that she was murdered by an immigrant coming in. They talk about that. But here’s the deal. There’s a a lot of young women being raped by their, by their in-laws, by their spouses, brothers and sisters. But- it’s just ridiculous and they can do nothing about it.
[END SOT]
MARGARET BRENNAN: Abortion is an important issue for Democrats. This should have been a layup. He was struggling to make the point. How do you explain that?
GOV. MOORE: Margaret, that- that- that wasn’t a great moment for the president. And no one can argue that it can. He was also standing feet away from someone who was talking about politicians who take babies away after they’re born and killing them. He was also talking- he was also standing feet away from somebody who was debating whether or not the limit on- on reproductive health should be six weeks or nine weeks or 12 weeks or saying that any politician should have a say about what happens with a woman and her body when that conversation should exclusively be between her and her doctor–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –Right. Donald- Donald Trump was saying–
GOV. MOORE: –And so it wasn’t a great moment for the president and we can’t defend that.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah–
GOV. MOORE: –No. Well- well I- I- I think in- in- and Donald Trump is also claiming responsibility for the turndown of Roe v. Wade. So- so I mean, it wasn’t a great moment for the president. But let’s be clear: his position on making sure the reproductive health and reproductive rights should be ironclad, his position that we should have Roe v. Wade, as the law of the land is very, very clear–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –Yeah.
GOV. MOORE: With Donald Trump, I want to be also clear that that is not his position.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I- I understand you want the conversation to be about the policy and the false statements made by his opponent. But the Atlanta Journal Constitution in Georgia, a key state for the president, came out in an editorial saying “This wasn’t a bad night; it was confirmation of the worst fears of some of Biden’s most ardent supporters — that after 36 years in the U.S. Senate, eight more as vice president and a term in the White House, age has finally caught up to him.” It referred to excuses like what you’re making as insulting to the American people. How do you respond to that?
GOV. MOORE: I think that what we are watching- when you’re watching a presidential performance, when you’re watching a president who was able to lead us to now where we have record low unemployment, when we’re able to watch how the the black- black wealth inside of this country, since the pandemic has risen by 60%, when you’re able to watch a presidential performance that’s been able to do things like raise wages for our workers, and making sure that our rights are protected, that- that does matter in this conversation. And so I understand people who are, you know, and I understand–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –Yes–
GOV. MOORE: –And I get it, the arguments about age and the complications of 81. But the number 81 is an important number, but so is watching historically low unemployment rates. And I do not think that people should lose sight of that.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Sure, but we’re not just talking about three-and-a-half years in the past, we’re talking about four more years, bringing him to age 86. Here is what the President responded when he was asked about the national debt, and how he would tax billionaires.
[BEGIN SOT]
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: We’d be able to right– wipe out his debt. We’d be able to help make sure that– all those things we need to do, childcare, elder care, making sure that we continue to strengthen our healthcare system, making sure that we’re able to make every single solitary person eligible for what I’ve been able to do with the COVID– excuse me, with dealing with everything we have to do with. Look, if– we finally beat Medicare.
[END SOT]
MARGARET BRENNAN: The president lost his own point.
GOV. MOORE: The- we also have to remember that this election is a binary choice. It’s an election between President Joe Biden, and frankly, even the conversation around the national debt, you know, someone whose tax cuts at a time when over the next decade, we are going to have the largest transfer of wealth in the history of the world–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –You need young voters to turn out–
GOV. MOORE: –And- and a president, a former president–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –Democrats need young voters to turn out–
GOV. MOORE: –That’s right.
MARGARET BRENNAN: How are they supposed to see themselves–
GOV. MOORE: –That’s right–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –Reflected in that?
GOV. MOORE: I think they’re also going to see themselves reflected in all the people who are going out and being the president’s surrogates. I think you’d have to go out and earn it. You know, I’m- I’m- I’m the youngest Democratic governor in this country. The only African American governor in America. And we’re out here all the time, and we’re out here in conjunction with other surrogates. We’re out here in conjunction with the president who’s out here campaigning and the vice president. We’re going to the people and we’re making our case to the people as to why this kind of partnership matters. Progress does not happen by accident. The work that we are seeing- I look at the state of Maryland, we now went from being 43rd in unemployment when I was first inaugurated to now having amongst the lowest unemployment rates in the entire country for 12 straight months.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So would you pursue–
GOV. MOORE: –We went from having some of the highest homicide rates–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –The Democratic nomination if Joe Biden were to- to take himself out of this race?
GOV. MOORE: I- I will not. And Joe Biden is not going to take himself out of this race, nor should he. He has been a remarkable partner–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –But he told himself in 2020–
GOV. MOORE: –To me as a governor, to so many other elected officials–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –A bridge to the future. A bridge, not anything else.
GOV. MOORE: And I still think he believes that. He is going to be a bridge to a future because he’s helping to build a bridge to the future. If you think about the work that he’s been able to do with the infrastructure capital, bipartisan infrastructure capital that we’re now deploying all over the country, Joe Biden will be an important bridge to the future. But I think that when you look at the record that he has, and the momentum that we’ve been able to instill in our own individual states, that could not happen without the partnership that we have with the Biden-Harris administration. And that’s why I will be out here today and tomorrow out campaigning for the President to get four more years.
MARGARET BRENNAN: The presidency is grueling on anyone, at any age. That is just a fact. You see presidents age before your eyes, but presidents can’t pick and choose the moments when they are on. It’s a- it’s a factor–
GOV. MOORE: –And I think that–
MARGARET BRENNAN: –Would you not acknowledge it is a factor in his performance?
GOV. MOORE: It’s 100% a factor. It’s a perfe- it’s a factor in all of our performances, Margaret. It’s a factor that we don’t get to choose the tragedies that we have to deal with. We don’t get to choose the disasters that we have to immediately stand in front of the cameras, and immediately begin to lead, how we build that coalition, how we’re mobilizing all of our resources and all of our assets to be able to deal with that. I have seen that. And one thing that I know, you know, again, I’m new to politics, but I’ve been an Army combat veteran. One thing I’ve learned is that I never learned anything about anybody in times of peace. If you ever want to know anything about somebody, watch them when the heat gets turned up. Watch them in times of crisis. Watch how they lead. Watch how they partner. And I’ve had a chance to see that firsthand with this President. I’ve had a chance to see him lead. I’ve had a chance to see him partner. I had a chance to see how when we were able to mobilize a 24/7 response to get the Port of Baltimore reopened, not in 11 months, but in 11 weeks. Bring closure to the families who lost individuals. I saw when he said that he was gonna be with us every step of the way, that he is a man of his word. And I respect that. And I admire that. And I will always stand by that. That is why I defend this President. That is why I need another four years. Because I look at the momentum we’ve had in the state of Maryland in just 18 months. Imagine if you can give me another four years. And that is why I will stand with and defend the President because results do matter in these conversations.
MARGARET BRENNAN: They do, but the Democrats’ message is that democracy itself is on the line. Are you confident that the only person, the only Democrat in America that could meet- beat Donald Trump is Joe Biden?
GOV. MOORE: Joe Biden is our nominee. Joe Biden is our leader. And Joe Biden has earned and Joe Biden deserves the confidence, the respect, and frankly, the partnership that we now have to provide to him. And so I will be in Chicago. I will proudly be supporting the president in Chicago. I will work through November to make sure he gets reelected. So yes, I do think that President Biden has earned the respect of Democrats and Joe Biden is going to be our leader going forward.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Governor Moore, thank you for joining us.
GOV. MOORE: Thank you.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We’ll be right back.
