Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said on ABC News on Sunday that he privately told President Joe Biden “the truth” about his declining campaign, despite publicly defending the president’s reelection bid.
During the interview on ABC’s “This Week,” host Martha Raddatz asked the governor if his concerns regarding Biden grew “as the weeks went on” after the president’s “disastrous debate,” noting how Moore said Biden shouldn’t take himself out of the race. Despite concerns after Biden’s debate performance, Moore publicly doubled down on the president’s reelection bid, stating he would continue to advocate for the Biden-Harris ticket in early July, according to Fox Baltimore.
“Well, you know, I had private conversations with the president, and I’m a big believer that when you care about somebody, you tell them the truth. And I had private conversations where I was telling the president the truth,” Moore said.
“I also know that the president deserved better than people running around and going in public and demanding that the president of the United States step down. Particularly when you look at the track record of the Biden-Harris Administration,” Moore continued. “I have had a phenomenal partner in the Biden-Harris Administration to be able to deliver the kind of results that we needed in Maryland, and so I knew that if he said that he was going to continue pushing forward, that I was going to stand with him.”
Raddatz continued to press Moore, asking him to detail what “truth” he was relaying to Biden during their conversations.
“Well, I think the truth was that there were real concerns. There were real concerns that I know that people had felt, but also that people were telling me that they had felt,” Moore continued.
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“I also know that, you know, I’m a loyalty person, and I believe that you can have private conversations and tell people the truth and be able to tell them what you’re hearing without also then turning around and publicly then trying to embarrass them,” Moore said.
Following Biden’s poor debate performance against former President Donald Trump in late June, Democratic lawmakers and pundits were quick to voice their concerns about Biden’s mental fitness and his low poll numbers. However, supporters for the president, such as Moore, publicly continued to defend Biden’s reelection bid as he joined a group of governors at the White House, saying, “The president has always had our backs. We’re going to have his back as well,” according to The Washington Post.
In a post-debate interview with CBS News, host Margaret Brennan tore into Moore’s public defense for the president, as the governor attempted to blow off the debate performance as a “bad night.”
Moore has since thrown his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris after Biden withdrew from the race on July 21 and endorsed Harris as the nominee instead. One day after Biden’s withdrawal, Moore took to X releasing a statement on his “full support” and “full endorsement” for Harris.
“Kamala Harris will move us forward, toward a brighter future for all. She is the fighter we need at this moment to realize the full promise of our nation,” Moore wrote.
Featured Image Credit: Maryland GovPics
