A Town Hall with Governor Wes Moore

Tonight, CBS News presents Things That Matter. Is Wes Moore the future of the Democratic Party? Can he take on MAGA and the Republicans in 2028? Our no-holds-barred town hall on the issues that matter in America today starts right now. [THEME MUSIC] Good evening. I'm Norah O'Donnell, and thank you for joining us for tonight's CBS News, Thing That Mattertown hall. This new series from CBS News has a clear goal, to have smart conversations and debates about topics that are important to Americans across the political divide. Those issues are often the hardest to talk about, and that is exactly the point. Tonight we're going to discuss rising prices in America, fallout from the Epstein files, the administration's immigration crackdown, and the state of the Democratic Party. Just a little bit about where we are, this is the historic town of Cambridge, Maryland. It is one of the oldest colonial cities in the nation. It's a city that served as a stop on the Underground Railroad, playing a prominent role in the Civil Rights movement. Our guest tonight is one of the rising stars in the Democratic Party and the country's only Black governor, Maryland's Wes Moore. New polling reveals that the 47-year-old is one of the most popular governors in the country. He's often mentioned as a contender for his party's presidential nomination in 2028. For now, he's running for re-election. Governor Moore, welcome and thank you for being here. So great to be with you and happy to have you in Maryland. Well, glad to be here with so many great people here from Maryland. Thank you for welcoming us here. Thank you. Governor, Monday is Presidents' Day. That is a holiday rooted in George Washington's birthday and now a celebration of American presidents. So let's start there. Governor Moore, where does Donald Trump fit in that history? How do you think Donald Trump's presidency will be remembered? Well, first I just want to say thank you. Thank you for being here in Maryland, especially in Cambridge. This is a special place. And I'm not a presidential historian. I'm not even a traditional politician. I don't come from a political family or a political background. I watched my dad die in front of me when I was three years old. I had handcuffs on my wrist by the time I was 11. My mom got her first job that gave her benefits after my dad died when I was 14. And I don't come-- I come from a family, frankly, that's used to suffering the consequences of policies and not used to making them. So I don't have an answer as to where I would rank the president. I can tell you the reality, though. I can tell you the reality that we are seeing inside of the state of Maryland. And it's troubling that we have seen that over the past year, we have seen how beef is now up 19%, that energy is up 13% And that's not in Maryland. That's around the country. We have seen an administration that is choosing to use the Constitution like it's a suggestion box. That we are watching how basic civil liberties are being trampled on. And so when I think about the legacy of this president and this vice president, honestly, I do not think history is going to remember them very well. But the thing that also concerns me is for the people who are just sitting quiet, for the people who are not using their voice in this moment, for the people who think that if we just sit quiet, that the beatings will stop. I think history is going to remember them even worse. Well, let's talk about what's happening in this country. The president is set to welcome the National Governors Association-- that's a bipartisan group-- to the White House. And I know that you are vice chair of that group. And yet, President Trump has said that you are not invited because, in his words, you're, quote, "not worthy." Why do you think President Trump has singled you out? Well, I can't speak to the president's heart. I can speak to his actions. And I do want to be clear to the president, respectfully, you do not determine my worthiness. God determines my worthiness. The people of Maryland determine my worthiness. They are who I answer to, not him. And I have been very clear with the people of my state, that I will work with anyone, but I will bow down to no one. And I think the president has a problem with that. And so I will work with cabinet secretaries and agency heads. I will work with anybody if it means that they're going to advance the issues for the people of Maryland, and especially if it's going to help to address some of the issues that I think are being inspired by the policies of the Trump administration. But if the point of the meeting that he singled me out and told me I'm disinvited from-- but if the point of the meeting is to turn it into name calling or to follow what he did in this most recent tweet, which is full of lies, and it's ignorant, and it's unhinged, if the point of the meeting is that, then my answer to the president is very clear-- no, I'm good. Meaning you won't go? Oh I'm good. Oh, I will not go. Absolutely not. Well, you referenced what he said about you. He's attacked you. He called you the foul mouthed governor of Maryland who fraudulently stated that he received military medals, a lie, is doing a terrible job on the rebuilding of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, and has allowed Baltimore to continue to be a crime disaster. First, what do you say to be being called foul mouth? I have learned to not ever answer for the president or to try to get inside of his psyche. I think that is mental gymnastics that I just don't have time for. But the thing about it, though, is I believe deeply that leadership means building a table that everyone has a seat. I believe that leadership means actually having integrity and making sure that everyone feels welcomed. And I believe that making this country great means letting everyone know that there's a place for you, too. And so I just think there are just fundamental disagreements that I have with the president and the vice president but also the language, the behavior, the ignorance. It's not just beneath the office. It's beneath this country. Because I think this country is better than that. Well, you mentioned some of the president's actions. I know that you saw that President Trump posted a video depicting the Obamas as apes, and then hours later, he said he is the least racist president in a long time. Do you believe President Trump is racist? I think that's a question for President Trump. I can tell you, I know how his actions hit Black folks and how they hit people of color. When we are watching a president who has spent his time going after scholarship programs for HBCUs. When we've watched a president who has now had the greatest assault on Black female employment that we have seen in our nation's history in just the past year. When we've seen the President of the United States trying to ban books, change our history, minimize our history. And yes, when we've seen a president of the United States thinking it's funny to put out videos depicting the former first family as apes. I think the question of is he a racist should be posed to Him, But frankly, I think his actions probably give the answer before he even has a chance to answer it himself. All right. I want to turn now to the president's immigration crackdown and what everyone witnessed in Minneapolis with those ICE officers. I think the question many people have is, is this going to happen in other cities and states across America? How do you prevent that from happening in Maryland? Yeah, this is a really difficult issue because first we know that we have a broken immigration system inside this country. And it's something that I know firsthand. I was raised by an immigrant single mom. And so this is a very personal issue. And I've seen how the President of the United States, when he came on board, he said, well, we are going to go after the worst of the worst. Just recently in Salisbury, here in the Eastern Shore, we had a mother who was arrested by ICE. She notified them that she had a sick son, and they didn't care. And while she was detained after asking to simply see her son, he died of cancer. How is that making any of us safer? When we are watching how ICE's budget in 2024 was $10 billion, their budget now is $85 billion. ICE is now, by funding, the 13th largest military force in the world. By funding, ICE is now bigger than the FBI. It's bigger than the DEA. It's bigger than the ATF. It is the largest law enforcement agency in this country. And they are using their resources arresting five-year-olds. And so I have a very difficult time seeing how this is making us safer. And I'm very clear, that-- and the people of my state know I have no tolerance for violent offenders. Maryland has now had amongst the fastest drop in violent crime anywhere in the United States of America. And our leaders, our law enforcement will continue to cooperate with federal officials when it comes to violent offenders. I have no patience nor tolerance for it. However, if we are now see an organization that is putting agents into our communities who are untrained, unqualified, and unaccountable, then it's my responsibility to make sure that the people of my state are safe. Let's turn now to our first audience question of the night. Jim Sicks is a retired lawyer. He is a member of the Democratic Central Committee here in Dorchester County. Jim, I know you have a question. And for those who don't see, Jim has socks, which is the Maryland flag, the best flag in the United States of America. [APPLAUSE] But my question, because the Republican-led Congress refuses to act as a check on the excesses of the current administration, citizens are left to rely on the courts and the states for relief and protection from President Trump's immigration actions, not to mention his other administrative efforts, authoritarian efforts. What can your administration realistically do through legislation, litigation, or your own executive authority to address concerns about ICE enforcement practices and protect Maryland communities? And in particular, what can you do to help the people of Hagerstown fend off the ICE's plan for 825,000 square foot detention center in that city? Yeah, thank you so much, and thank you for the question. One thing that we know is that it's important to have a level of cooperation between the federal government and our states. That's something that's existed since the origins of this country. But what we're seeing now is that this is not a relationship where we're working in partnership. This is a relationship where we're being dictated to. And that, as the state's chief executive, I have a very real problem with. And we know that we are going to protect our communities, and we are going to follow the law in the state of Maryland. The only thing we're asking the federal government to do is follow the law as well. And so we're working in partnership with our attorney general. We're working in partnership with local elected officials to ensure that the laws are actually keeping up with the type of pace of movement that we've seen from our federal government. And also, we know whether it's the case of Hagerstown and the facility, it's just really amazing to me that when we needed help from the federal government in Western Maryland when they had historic flooding, that we were turned down from the federal government. That in fact, not only Maryland, but no state that did not vote for Donald Trump has gotten a single dollar in federal disaster relief, but they somehow found money to buy a warehouse in Hagerstown. That when we said that we needed supports, additional supports for FBI and ATF to continue the historic drop in violent crime we've seen in Maryland, we couldn't get that. They continue cutting that funding, but somehow they could find funding for this. And so while we know that federal property, that sometimes it's challenging when the Feds buy property about what you can do. But I know this, any property that exists inside the state of Maryland, you need permits. There's regulations you got to follow being inside the state of Maryland. So we'll just make sure that they understand that we've got a lot of permits that need to be met. I want to continue the conversation about immigration because I think it is a very important one. And President Donald Trump won the presidency in 2024 promising this immigration crackdown that we are witnessing. The Biden administration allowed over 4 million migrants into the country through the Southern border during his term in office. Are Democrats to blame for this immigration crisis that we're witnessing? Well, I definitely think that the former president did not have this right. You do? Oh yes. And we needed to do more. I don't think anyone can argue that we had the system worked out under President Biden, that immigration was worked out. But actually, I would argue that we have not had the system worked out across multiple administrations. Immigration has been an issue that we as a country have punted on for a very long time because the people who can uniquely fix immigration is Congress. And this is the frustrating thing for me with this Congress right now, where I feel we're just watching a continued abdication of responsibility, where if the speaker-- the ironic thing is, right now, the president has-- the president's party has the presidency, the House, and the Senate. If the president wanted immigration reform done right now, do you know what he could do? He would call the Speaker of the House, and he said, I need a bill on my desk by next week. And do you know what will be on his desk next week? A comprehensive immigration bill reform, because they have the votes. And that's not happening. So instead of doing comprehensive immigration reform, which would include things like secure the border, include things like making sure we're giving pathways to citizenship and making sure we're having common sense laws that can make sure that people are seen and supported but we are going to enforce our laws, we would have this fixed. But it is not happening, and it's not happening because they're not actually interested in solving the problem. There have been both Republican and Democratic presidents and congresses that have punted on this issue of immigration for decades. This is a bipartisan failure, a bipartisan failure. I want to turn now to our next audience question. KJ McKenzie is a registered Republican and a digital media business owner. KJ. As a lifelong Marylander and a former Democrat and a Black woman, I left the party because I got tired of hearing racial framing on every issue that didn't solve real problems like crime, failing schools, high taxes, and cost of living. So how will you earn back voters like me who want results, not racial narratives? Amen, KJ. And thank you. And thank you for your question, too. I don't come from a political background. It's truth. I remember when I told my family that I was going to get ready to run for governor, I had members of my family who I had to convince to vote for me. And it's not because we're not cool. Like we're cool. I had to convince some of my family to vote because that's just not our background. And the truth is is that part of it is the challenge of party. Because I think if you ask members of my party-- members of my family, which party has failed you when you think about the policies that have impacted my family? They couldn't tell you who was in charge. They couldn't tell you if it was a Democratic idea or a Republican idea. They just know it was a bad idea that hurt us. So I hear your frustration. And I think in this moment that the job of the Democratic Party is not to just energize the base. It's to enlarging it. It's to speak to everybody. I think about being here right now in Dorchester County. I lost Dorchester County by 14 points when I ran for governor. And this is my 17th time in Dorchester County since I have been the governor. And people say, you're spending a lot of time in Dorchester. There's a lot of Republicans. And I said, yeah, there are a lot of Marylanders. And that's all I need to know. If they're a Marylander, they're good with me, and we're going to keep showing up. And I think that's what people have to do. It's not about just how do you energize a base or give the party the red meat. It's about how do you focus on actually addressing the issues that people care about, like lowering costs, like giving people quality public education? The same reasons why I ran for governor. If you do that, you don't an election problem. And we won't have people like you, KJ, who are wondering where your political home is, because you'll go to the people that are delivering results. Governor, can I follow up on that question from KJ, because I do think there's a fight in this country going on right now in terms of the direction of the Democratic Party and the direction of the country, and specifically here in Maryland and some other states, the question about redistricting or gerrymandering. You have backed a plan here in Maryland that would help Democrats win an additional seat in Congress. So how do you respond to members of your own party who say that is going to backfire both legally and politically? Well, first, I want to give context as to why I think this is important. I think this is important because-- let's be clear, Donald Trump started this conversation when he started calling Texas and said, I need you to find me votes. And then it's Florida and North Carolina and Ohio and Missouri and where we're literally trying to watch if you cannot win on the issues, so what do you do? You rig it. So the election then becomes preordained, and then you can have an opportunity to make that pain permanent. If you do that here in Maryland-- there's only one Republican district. Republicans won't have any representation in Congress. But for me, this is not about, are you going to fight for a seat? For me, this is about are you going to fight for democracy? Are you going to fight to make sure that it's not Donald Trump who determines what our democracy looks like, that it's the people of Maryland who determine what our democracy looks like. And so that's why I ordered a Governor's Redistricting Advisory Commission, which is a bipartisan commission that met for months and listened to Marylanders. Every Marylander had a chance to make their voice heard. And they came back with recommendations. The House of Delegates debated it. They made adjustments, and they took a vote. So what they did was they did their Democratic duty. And so the only thing I'm asking for the Maryland Senate now, where the bill is with them, is debate it, discuss it, and do your Democratic duty to vote. No matter how the vote goes, I'm good because that's democracy. But what I'm not OK with is watching democracy die in the free state. That's not who we are. And so this-- what they propose is something that's actually helping to make six of the eight congressional districts more competitive, but more importantly, this is democracy. And I believe that democracy is always worth fighting for. All right. We have much more to get to. And when we come back, we're going to talk with the governor about the Justice Department's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case and why it's undermining trust in American institutions. You're watching a CBS News, Things That Mattertown hall. [UPBEAT MUSIC] Welcome back to our town hall with Governor Moore. Governor, I want to ask you about the Epstein files, because they have dominated the headlines lately. And I want to ask you about this because among many other things, it does bring up some issues about trust in the American system. I think Americans are united in their disgust of what they have learned in these files. How do elites and institutions and the government rebuild American's trust in the system? I think these files are sickening. And with every new piece of information that comes out, it's even more grotesque and offensive. I think there needs to be accountability for what happened, as to why it took so long for people to get an understanding of just the depth of this heinous behavior. And frankly, I think there needs to be accountability. Who? I think part of the reason-- I think there needs to be accountability for anybody who is in those files. And I do not care. I think if you are found guilty of doing these horrific things to these children, I do not care your background or political affiliation, justice has to be served, and justice has to be served for these little girls, the people who their lives have been shattered. And so I think part of the reason, part of break of trust that people have is they're like, we've known about these things for a long period of time, and how many people have gone to jail for it? How many people have been arrested? A woman, Ghislaine Maxwell. One person. How many people have even been questioned? So I understand than the frustration. I have it, too, because the lack of accountability, the lack of transparency, and frankly, the lack of justice that we have seen from this has been staggering. And so I stand with the many, many Americans who say there needs to be accountability for what happened to these children. And I don't care where it leads, and I don't care who is responsive. If you are a person who is found guilty of these heinous actions, you must meet justice. All right. I want to ask you about something. You signed this law, a piece of legislation called the VAX Act, which you said was a direct response to the Trump administration's efforts to undermine trust in vaccines. On that note, let's bring in our next audience questioner, Jennifer Coleman. Jennifer, I know you have a question. Thank you. Hi, Jennifer. Hi thank you for coming and talking with us today. Yes, ma'am. As a parent and a health care provider, I'm concerned about mandated vaccines. As you know, the CDC has changed its guidelines when it comes to hepatitis B and meningococcal vaccines. Will Maryland require those for kids to attend school and college? And what does it mean for families who refuse? Thank you so much, Jennifer, and thank you for the question. And when you look at the VAX Act, the reason that we did it is not about mandating of vaccines. Really what it is saying, though, is that we want to make sure that our parents have information. We want to make sure that if they choose to get the vaccines, that it is accessible. And also what we're doing is we're working with our insurance providers to making sure that it is covered by insurance, because of a parent's financial situation should not determine whether or not they can get their children vaccines that they deem to be necessary or important. And for the VAX Act, part of the reason why we introduced that bill I was watching what was happening on the federal level. I was watching how we were no longer watching vaccine policy that was being led by science. That they were being led by opinions. That I was not watching vaccine policies that were being led by data. They were being led by conspiracy theories. And so what we basically said with the VAX Act is-- well, what we say the VAX Act is we just want to decouple off of the federal guidelines. Let the parents choose. Let the parents to be able to identify, let Marylanders choose, because our vaccine policies in our state should be led by science and not by conspiracy theories. And so that's really what the VAX Act does. It just allows us to decouple from the federal side and give more choice and optionality to our families. Another focus of your administration has been helping young men and boys, who, by many measures, are falling behind nationwide. Which leads me to the next audience question. Curtis Valentine, he is the president of the Male Educator Network and Policy Institute and chairman of Real Men Teach. Curtis, thanks for being here. Thank you. Recently, your administration invested $19 million in an effort to provide more opportunities for men to become school teachers. As someone who is a former middle school teacher and a member of the school board for the second largest district in this country, I can affirm the research that the impact that men have on their students both in and out of schools. What else can your administration do to pull young men out of this crisis we're seeing in Maryland and around the country? Thank you, Curtis. And thanks for your leadership, too. Part of the reason why I wanted to put a clear focus on young men and boys was both, as you mentioned, Norah, the data is just so clear. And we've been ignoring data for a very long time. When we're looking at everything from suicide rates, when we're looking at the job placement and job growth, when we're looking at reading levels, we are watching how young boys have continued to fall off. And I remember when I first brought it up, there was a lot of controversy behind it. And people were saying, well, does this mean you're not going to support young girls? I said, no, what we're saying is this, we are going to support our young women and girls, but if you really want to support your young women and girls, make sure we have strong men and boys in society, too. That you've got to make sure you're lifting up both, intentionally. And so we did. We focused on things like putting more male mentors inside a classroom and more male teachers, that we focused on things making sure that homes of worship were involved inside of this conversation, and we're creating new opportunities. We made Maryland the first state in the country that now has a service year option for all of our high school graduates, many of them young boys. That I signed, the largest mass pardon in the history of the United States of America when I pardoned over 175,000 misdemeanor cannabis convictions in the stroke of a pen, much of that benefiting and supporting young men who were finding themselves completely wiped out of a job market for a misdemeanor cannabis conviction from the 1990s. And so, by putting a very intentional focus on our young men and boys, we have seen how not only has that helped to drive the improvements that we're seeing in Maryland. We have been able to cut the teacher vacancy rate in half in the state of Maryland since I've been the governor. Much of those have been men entering into the teaching force. That we've been able to see graduation rates spike. That we're now watching-- we're now watching how in most grades in Maryland, essentially every grade in Maryland, both reading and mathematics, are up. And our early childhood reading has jumped 20 states in two years. I'm a big believer because I've seen it in my own life as a person who was raised by an immigrant single mom, that my mother could do a whole lot to help and support me and lift me. She couldn't teach me how to be a man. The same thing for my daughter. I love my daughter with my whole heart. There are just certain nuances I can't teach her about how to be a woman. My wife has to do that. Her aunts, her grandmothers, her friends, that's going to be something that they are going to be uniquely able and capable to do. So I just want to make sure that all of our young boys, no matter their situation, that they can get the same kind of supports that I got and you got because that will help them turn into not just good and decent but contributing men. All right. Governor, thank you. And ahead, Maryland has the most expensive utility bills in the country. What's the governor doing about it? We will ask him next. [THEME MUSIC] Welcome back. There is a cost of living crisis in America, with millions of Americans struggling to pay for housing, child care, health care. Maryland's state comptroller put out a report recently saying that working age, middle income households are moving away to more affordable states. So how big of a problem is that? What are you doing about it? I mean, it is a national problem, but it is a very big problem in the state of Maryland. It's just harder to get by. And frankly, it's not fair. When I'm watching 37% of young Marylanders say that they would consider leaving the state for one reason, housing costs. When I'm watching people who are saying, I don't understand how my energy bill went from $250 to $800, it's not fair to them. And I know as you know-- I think about my mom. I look at the situation that we grew up in. I didn't grow up from a family of wealth. Like, this kind of stuff matters. In fact, my mother still to this day is like, why is my energy bill so high? So I get it every day. And so what's your answer to your mother? So honestly, my answer is is that we have not done enough to be able to really fortify the grid to get more energy options. We haven't done enough when it comes to housing to be able to build more housing. And so the solutions that we have put on board when it comes to things like energy, we've provided last year a $200 million in rebates to Marylanders to make sure we're putting more money back in their pocket. You mentioned it. I mean, the rising cost of energy, it's a problem across America. But in your state, Maryland was the most expensive state for utilities. Grayson Miller is here from Johns Hopkins University College Democrats, and he has a question on that topic for you. Grayson. Hi, Governor. Thank you for being here. I'm a senior in college, and I'm deciding on where to start my next chapter. Energy costs are top of mind here in Maryland when it comes to BGE in particular. I'm wondering what actions your administration can take to lower those energy costs and make Maryland more affordable for young people and working families to build their futures. Well, first, Grayson, it's great to be with you. And the first thing I'm going to tell you is, yes, you need to stay in Maryland because we need you here. And we're very, very proud of you. I actually just recently led a delegation of both Democratic and Republican governors to the White House and where Democrats and Republican governors were working together with the administration. And we did a statement of principles on actually pushing PJM, which is the regional grid operator for 13 states, and saying that, hey, we need them to streamline the projects that actually happen. They need to stop slowing down the projects, because part of the reason that you have an energy shortage is because you have this massive pipeline that they're not greenlighting. We need more projects being greenlit. The second thing we called for was we want them to have a two-year cap on costs. That we want them to cut costs-- cut the increase in costs for two years because they have got to understand their own responsibility in this. And when we're talking about PJM, it's not just Maryland. It's actually 13 states that represent this grid. And the third thing that we need for them to be able to do is to give us a seat at the table. Because right now, a lot of these decisions are being made about what energies, what energy projects get greenlit, about where the power lines go and all that stuff, these things are being made without us at the table. And so you're making decisions, looking at a map as if people don't live there. And so we had a very, very real-- and bipartisan asks for PJM to be able to help to address this issue because I know there is nothing that we will not do to make sure we are driving down costs here in the state of Maryland, because we want you and we need you here. But we also know that so much of these things that are happening, we're going to need support from both our federal, and we're going to need support from our regional partners as well in order to make those things happen. Grayson, great question. And when we come back, we're going to ask the governor if he's planning to run for president and who he sees as the future of the Democratic Party. We'll be right back. [THEME MUSIC] Welcome back to our town hall. Governor, I know you are focused on running for re-election as governor, but would you ever consider running for president? No. I'm excited about my job. I'm excited about the work that we're doing. I'm asking everybody here for their vote in November. And I can say that with a very real deal of comfort, because I remember when one of my mentors, Elijah Cummings, when he passed away-- and there are people who are close to Elijah who contacted me, and they knew about our relationship. And they said, we really think you should consider running for Congress and running for his seat. And I told them I thought about it, and I prayed on it, but I was like, that's not what I want to do. And there was nothing-- So you're saying you're never going to run for president? Yeah. So when they start talking about that, I said that there was nothing that anyone could say to me to make me do it. And I remember when I told people that I was going to run for governor, I had people who came and said, you're crazy. You're polling at 1%. You're not going to win. You're going to embarrass yourself. And I said, there's nothing that anyone could tell me to get me not to run. And so I'm not running for president. But you're not saying that you won't ever run? I don't see a reason. I love my job, and I love what I'm doing. And I think-- and listen, I-- Who would you like to run for president? Who would I like to run? I guess the audience likes these questions. They do. They do. I think there's a tremendous amount of talent. And one thing I will say, too, is I don't think it's about who is the leader of the Democratic Party. I think no one should be focusing on who's going to lead the Democratic Party. They need to focus on who's going to work to heal the country. The country needs healing right now. And we need a leader who's going to be future facing and be hopeful and actually have results to show. So I appreciate the fact that people are looking at the fact that Maryland has-- that we have amongst the fastest drops in crime rates anywhere in this country, that we've gone from 43rd in the country to unemployment to now having an unemployment rate that's consistently below the national average, that we've been able to raise minimum wages, that we've been able to make sure we're getting young people employed and have the first time in the country you have a targeted effort to address the issue of child poverty. And people are paying attention to that. But when I think about the future, I want to see people that have real results to show for it, because I think the best predictor of what future opportunities are going to be is, what have you done to meet the moment now? Let me ask you, because you are a rising star in the Democratic Party, and if you run for president, there's going to be a lot of questions about your biography and your resume. And that has already started. The conservative outlet, the Washington Free Beacon, has published a number of stories, and I want to give you an opportunity to respond to some of those claims. First, you were selected a Rhodes scholar, and you attended Oxford University. That's a big deal. Congratulations. But Oxford says it does not have a copy of your thesis. Did you submit it? Any idea why it's missing? I think Oxford has said that I have completed my degree. There is no denying that. And that I received a master's degree at Oxford University in international relations after being the first African-American Rhodes scholar in the history of Johns Hopkins University. And so there is no denying that. And listen, I think about in this frame. If there's a couple things that the people of this state know about me, it's that I'm a person of honor and integrity. I take that very seriously. I was raised right by my family, and I was trained right by the Army. And so when I'm watching this game of politics-- and frankly, this is what I think people hate about politics so much, is this politics of personal destruction, where as a person who has nothing neither to be ashamed of or nothing to exaggerate about my life, that this is the thing that conservative right-wing blogs want to attack, particularly when it's something that Oxford University has verified already. This is the thing I think people hate about politics and the thing that I think we have to get away from. Because the people of my state know if I said it, I meant it. And there is never a question about my integrity. They are also raising questions, and I want to give you the opportunity to respond to it. It's something you wrote about in your book. You talk about on the campaign stump that your great grandfather was run out of South Carolina in the 1920s by the KKK. The Free Beacon is casting doubt on that with church records. Can you address that? I mean, the same right-wing blog? I can address the fact that I am the grandson of someone who was born in South Carolina, and when he was just a child, the Ku Klux Klan ran their family-- they ran my family out. And not out of South Carolina-- they ran them out of the United States of America, and they went to Jamaica. And much of my family has always said they would never come back to this country. It's the reason why my mom, right now, as we speak, is in Jamaica, and she's visiting with family members. But my grandfather came back to this country. He got his degree from Lincoln University, an HBCU in Pennsylvania. He became a minister just like his father, and he became the first Black minister in the history of the Dutch Reformed Church. I know my family's history. So if some blog has a question about the clan's history, maybe they should ask the Ku Klux Klan. All right. Let's bring in our final audience question of the night, Sydney Bradner-Jacobs. She's the chair of the Democratic Central Committee here in Dorchester County. Sydney. Yes. Governor, great to see you. Wonderful to see you. Thank you for being here in Dorchester County. You could have had this in Baltimore or Annapolis, but you chose to do it here in the heart of the Chesapeake, particularly here in Cambridge. So thank you. And everyone's meeting, great shoutouts to Cambridge. I want to give a great shoutout to East New Market and Hurlock as well. As Democrats think about their role in the country right now, what do you believe the party is doing well, and where should it focus next? Thank you, Sydney, and thanks for your leadership. I think that there's something that we have to make sure that we do better, and that's actually meet people where they are and move with a sense of urgency. The Democrats have got to stop being the party of no and slow and start being the party of yes and now. That everything cannot be a 10-year study. Everything cannot be a 15-year analysis. If I'm telling you that I feel like the school that my child is attending is not preparing them for the world, I don't want to hear you tell me, well, let me just make sure that I put a commission together to analyze that. If I'm telling you that you know what, I feel like housing prices are just going out of control, I don't want you to tell me, so let me figure out how we can do an analysis, a 10-year analysis about how we can build more housing. No. What I need you to do is build more housing now. And that's why if you look at the legislation that we've gotten done and how we pushed in Maryland-- I'm probably one of the most aggressive governors in this country, where we actually just introduced legislation saying, I want to take a look at all available state land. Just so happens that Maryland happens to be the largest landowner in the state of Maryland. So I say, listen, I understand that we can't build everywhere, but the places where we can build, we should. That we need more affordable housing inside of our state. And I don't need a 12-year study to figure that out. And the thing that gets me really about this city is, do you know ironically who gets that? Donald Trump. Because he does not waste time. Donald Trump did not need an analysis to decide that he was going to rip away food assistance for the people of our state. Donald Trump did not need a five-year study to determine that he was going to deploy federal agents inside of our communities and neighborhoods with no accountability. So while I can talk all day long about the cruelty and the things that I object to that we are seeing from the Trump-Vance administration, I do want to be clear, we would be foolish not to understand the speed, because that is the thing that people are just asking us. Do you see me? Do you understand what I'm going through? Do you understand what my family has been dealing with? And if your answer to that is, I do, and that's why I'm going to do a five-year commission, then I'm going to look back at you and say, then you don't understand. Sydney, Governor, thank you, and we will be right back. [MUSIC PLAYING] I want to thank Maryland Governor, Wes Moore, for taking the time to join us tonight. Also, a big thank you to our audience for participating in this town hall. CBS News will have many more conversations on the things that matter, topics that are important to Americans across the political divide. So stay tuned. Our next town hall airs March 14 with Vice President JD Vance. And our partners at The Free Press will hold "The God Debate" with Steven Pinker and Ross Douthat on faith, morality, and meaning. That's coming next month on The Free Press, Paramount+, and CBS Online. I'm Norah O'Donnell with CBS News. Good night. [APPLAUSE] [THEME MUSIC]