Moore to deliver July 4 patriotism speech, fueling 2028 speculation
Moore will use July 4 at the State House to cast patriotism as sacrifice, not spectacle, while Trump rallies on the National Mall and 2028 chatter grows.
Wes Moore will turn the Maryland State House in Annapolis into the setting for a July 4 speech titled The Work of Patriotism, while Donald Trump holds a National Mall rally billed as a “TRIBUTE TO AMERICA.”
The address will argue that Democrats cannot cede patriotism to Trump and that love of country is not loyalty to one person, one party, or one spectacle. Ammar Moussa, Moore’s press secretary, links the speech to a line between patriotism and nationalism, and a draft line says, “We are a nation of strength because we are a nation of sacrifice.”
Moore wants to be a “foil to darkness” and a “foil to fatalism,” not just a foil to Trump, even as he says he is “laser-focused” on his 2026 reelection campaign. The same week, he is expected to appear on new media and head to battleground Michigan to campaign for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson in Detroit, Saginaw and Flint. Moore is Maryland’s 63rd governor and the state’s first Black governor.
The governor’s executive order tied Maryland’s America 250 planning to July 4, 2026. Maryland supplied material, resources, ships and soldiers during the Revolutionary War, and it frames the anniversary as a chance to deepen public understanding of the state’s history, strengthen appreciation for service and encourage civic engagement. The Maryland 250 Commission, expanded in 2023 and again in 2024, is built around history, civics and service, while Baltimore City also has its own local 250 commission listed by the state. Moore used similar themes in his 2025 Lincoln University commencement address, where he centered patriotism on his grandfather, Reverend Dr. James Thomas, who was forced out by the Ku Klux Klan as a child.
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