Moore seeks to upstage Trump, other Democrats with holiday patriotism speech

Gov. Wes Moore will compete with hot dogs, fireworks and intense heat when he delivers a speech extolling patriotism on a milestone birthday for the nation.

Maryland’s Democratic governor will deliver a Fourth of July speech about patriotism and why America is worth fighting for from the State House in Annapolis in front of a group of military veterans.

The event offers counterprogramming — and a contrasting message — to President Donald Trump’s Fourth of July festivities in Washington, according to Moore’s team. The Republican president is set to deliver a speech later Saturday, ahead of a massive fireworks display in the nation’s capital.

Moore is considered a potential contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, and the theme, staging and timing of his speech suggest he’s trying to create a moment. So are Trump and other high-profile Democrats. But Americans may be more focused on the backyard grill, fireworks and whether the air conditioning is working.

Titled “The Work of Patriotism,” the governor’s speech will make the case that patriotism is not about loyalty to one man or one party but about allegiance to the country and its people, according to his team.

It’s a callback to his 2022 gubernatorial campaign, when Moore first pushed the idea that Democrats can reclaim patriotism as a key value, and possibly a glimpse of the governor’s future ambitions.

“We are a nation of strength because we are a nation of sacrifice,” reads one line of the speech provided by Moore’s office.

Moore said the speech is less about countering Trump and more about offering a hopeful message.

“I’m trying to be a foil to darkness,” the governor told Politico last week. “I think I’m trying to be a foil to fatalism. I think I’m trying to be a foil to self-serving ideologies. What I want people to know in all this is that I believe strongly that we need a future-facing vision for this nation.”

In the past, Moore has tied his messages of patriotism to his service in the U.S. Army, including a deployment to Afghanistan. With his military record under renewed scrutiny, it’s not clear how he’ll address his service in the speech.

The best-case scenario for Moore is he delivers memorable lines that get picked up by national media, though “that depends on how his team gets it out and to whom,” said Roger Hartley, professor of public affairs at the University of Baltimore. Trump could take notice and in criticizing Moore could end up amplifying the governor.

At a minimum, Hartley said, Moore can use the speech to test lines that he may use again.

The worst-case scenario would be if Moore says something controversial and draws negative attention, Hartley said. Or perhaps, “no one hears it on a busy holiday weekend with the World Cup and other political stories that are bigger,” he said.

Though the patriotism speech is a production of Moore’s government office, the tone and timing are overtly political.

Though the governor says he’s focused on his reelection bid — a rematch against Republican Dan Cox, whom he trounced in 2022 — Moore’s name continues to be circulated as a potential 2028 presidential candidate.

Moore regularly travels outside Maryland, giving speeches, boosting candidates and meeting with social media influencers. He was just in Michigan, a swing state, on a political trip, and on Sunday an episode of the popular YouTube show “Surrounded” will feature Moore facing 20 nonvoters in an attempt to convince them to participate in democracy.

Moore has planned a national media blitz Friday, followed by another round of TV interviews Sunday in hopes of capturing an audience for his message.

Moore’s not the only Democrat trying to divert attention from Trump on the nation’s 250th birthday.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the newly ascendant star of the Democratic Party’s progressive wing, will deliver his own speech Friday morning, according to news reports.

Mamdani’s chosen audience will be naturalized immigrants, like him, and he will reflect on his views of the nation’s principles, the New York Times reported. His speech will be delivered from behind a desk used by President George Washington, who was inaugurated in New York.

Trump, meanwhile, has a speech planned hours later at Mount Rushmore.

Moore’s setup won’t have quite the drama of Mamdani’s historic desk or Trump’s backdrop Friday of Mount Rushmore and the nation’s capital Saturday.

Moore will speak in the Governor’s Reception Room, a ceremonial room decorated by portraits of past governors that’s used for news conferences, cabinet meetings and bill-signing ceremonies.

Maryland Public Television will broadcast the speech live at 11 a.m. and is making a livestream available to other networks and media outlets — though it’s unclear where else the speech will be aired.