WEBVTT - Governor Wes Moore 0:00:03.000 --> 0:00:04.680 I'm in the State House of Maryland, where I just 0:00:04.760 --> 0:00:08.440 had a conversation with Wesmore, the charismatic governor of Maryland. 0:00:09.000 --> 0:00:11.000 He said he was definitely going to run for reelection 0:00:11.320 --> 0:00:13.920 two years. He also said he hasn't decided whether he's 0:00:13.960 --> 0:00:15.920 going to run for president of the United States, but 0:00:15.960 --> 0:00:17.680 there are many people who think he'd be an excellent 0:00:17.680 --> 0:00:21.400 candidate in four years. My conversation with him was one 0:00:21.400 --> 0:00:23.279 of the most interesting ones I've had with any. 0:00:23.120 --> 0:00:24.320 Governor in recent years. 0:00:24.880 --> 0:00:28.319 You were asleep one night and somebody, I think woke 0:00:28.360 --> 0:00:31.320 you up and said that the key Bridge was collapsing. 0:00:31.640 --> 0:00:33.960 Who woke you up? And what did you say? 0:00:34.800 --> 0:00:38.519 It was our fantastic chief of Staff, Fagan Harris, at 0:00:38.520 --> 0:00:42.040 two o two in the morning called and he said, 0:00:42.440 --> 0:00:47.320 the key Bridge is gone. And that key Bridge is 0:00:47.400 --> 0:00:50.240 you know, it's over two miles long. It is literally 0:00:50.280 --> 0:00:53.760 it's in the skyline of every picture of Baltimore and 0:00:53.800 --> 0:00:56.360 it's been there since I've been born. And when I 0:00:56.360 --> 0:00:57.560 said to him, I said, what do you mean gone? 0:00:58.040 --> 0:01:04.280 And he said it collapsed. And immediately we began mobilizing. 0:01:04.440 --> 0:01:06.160 We were on the phone with the FBI trying to 0:01:06.160 --> 0:01:09.800 figure out was their terrorism involved. You know what exactly happened, 0:01:09.959 --> 0:01:12.280 how many cars were on the bridge, how many people 0:01:12.600 --> 0:01:17.560 are unaccounted for. I'll never forget that morning because immediately 0:01:17.640 --> 0:01:20.440 you just saw how we had to put the state 0:01:20.480 --> 0:01:22.480 on a state of emergency. We had to be and 0:01:22.520 --> 0:01:25.640 begin coordinating efforts. But I'll never forget that morning. 0:01:25.800 --> 0:01:27.560 So, as it turned out, a number of people were 0:01:27.560 --> 0:01:29.240 working in the middle of the night on the bridge, 0:01:29.280 --> 0:01:30.920 and I guess most of them, if not all of them, 0:01:30.959 --> 0:01:35.120 lost their lives. And now the bridge is now going 0:01:35.160 --> 0:01:38.279 to be repaired. Somehow you managed to get the federal 0:01:38.319 --> 0:01:39.600 government to pay. 0:01:39.319 --> 0:01:41.040 For all of it by partisan support. 0:01:41.800 --> 0:01:43.440 So when will the bridge reopen? 0:01:43.800 --> 0:01:46.600 It will reopen in twenty twenty eight. We will have 0:01:46.640 --> 0:01:47.440 that bridge done. 0:01:47.560 --> 0:01:50.440 And why is it important to Maryland and Baltimore to 0:01:50.440 --> 0:01:51.640 have the Key bridge anyway? 0:01:52.000 --> 0:01:54.840 Well, you know the Port of Baltimore. It really is 0:01:55.600 --> 0:01:58.760 America's gateway. It's one of the most important, not just 0:01:58.800 --> 0:02:01.880 maritime facilities, but just port entries that we have in 0:02:01.920 --> 0:02:04.480 the country. Two thirds of the country get its goods 0:02:04.720 --> 0:02:07.840 from the Port of Baltimore as its main entry point. 0:02:08.000 --> 0:02:11.040 But there's only really three main arteries to the Port 0:02:11.080 --> 0:02:16.080 of Baltimore. You have the Harbor Tunnel, you have you 0:02:16.160 --> 0:02:20.840 have the Baltimore Tunnel, and then you have the Key Bridge. 0:02:21.240 --> 0:02:25.680 The problem is that all has matt materials, oil, oil, 0:02:26.400 --> 0:02:29.600 or your refinaries, et cetera. They cannot take tunnels legally, 0:02:29.880 --> 0:02:32.560 they can only take the bridge. And so this is 0:02:32.600 --> 0:02:35.919 having a distinct impact not just on transit and transportation, 0:02:36.320 --> 0:02:39.720 but it is having a distinct impact on goods and 0:02:40.480 --> 0:02:41.799 commerce being able to move. 0:02:41.960 --> 0:02:44.480 So right now as we talk, there have been fires 0:02:44.480 --> 0:02:48.360 in California. Do you have any advice for your fellow 0:02:48.600 --> 0:02:52.639 Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom about how to handle crises like these? 0:02:52.800 --> 0:02:55.800 Yeah, I mean it's heartbreaking what's going on in southern California. 0:02:55.800 --> 0:02:58.520 And I know, you know, I reached out to Gavin 0:02:58.560 --> 0:03:01.080 as soon as I heard about happened and offered our 0:03:01.120 --> 0:03:03.680 support and offered our resources as well, because I was 0:03:03.680 --> 0:03:06.000 really humbled how many governors reached out to me right 0:03:06.040 --> 0:03:09.000 after the Key Bridge and did the same. And so 0:03:09.080 --> 0:03:11.639 that bond does matter. I think when I think about 0:03:11.680 --> 0:03:14.160 the Key Bridge, the most important thing that we were 0:03:14.200 --> 0:03:18.040 able to do was have unified command, was be able 0:03:18.080 --> 0:03:20.280 to bring everybody on board that we were all singing 0:03:20.320 --> 0:03:22.280 from the same sheet of music that we all had 0:03:22.400 --> 0:03:23.160 unified goals. 0:03:23.240 --> 0:03:27.160 What caused the ship to collapse or crash into the bridge? 0:03:27.320 --> 0:03:28.120 What was the cause? 0:03:28.280 --> 0:03:31.079 Well, they're still going through that now. In fact, there's 0:03:31.080 --> 0:03:34.760 litigation that our Attorney General has filed, and so we're 0:03:34.800 --> 0:03:37.400 going through the process of identification. The thing that we 0:03:37.440 --> 0:03:40.960 know is that bridges don't just collapse. There's negligence that 0:03:41.080 --> 0:03:43.400 caused that bridge to collapse on March twenty six. 0:03:43.760 --> 0:03:47.040 Maryland has had a reputation in this metropolitan area of 0:03:47.040 --> 0:03:51.480 being a higher tax state than Virginia. Recently, you have 0:03:51.920 --> 0:03:54.560 announced a three billion dollar budget gap that you're trying 0:03:54.560 --> 0:03:57.040 to deal with, and part of it is you're increasing 0:03:57.120 --> 0:03:58.760 taxes on wealthier people. 0:03:58.920 --> 0:04:03.120 Yeah, but what we're doing is this, no one agrees 0:04:03.160 --> 0:04:06.240 that the tax code makes sense in the state of Maryland, 0:04:06.520 --> 0:04:08.160 and so I said, we've got to be able to 0:04:08.200 --> 0:04:10.360 reform the tax code to make us more competitive and 0:04:10.360 --> 0:04:13.920 to make taxes simpler, fare and pro growth. And so 0:04:14.840 --> 0:04:17.360 I just announced a budget plan. And it is kind 0:04:17.360 --> 0:04:19.599 of intuitive, but I explain to people to deal with 0:04:19.640 --> 0:04:23.000 the budget deficit, the structural deficit that we inherited, we're 0:04:23.040 --> 0:04:25.520 actually going to give two thursd of Marylanders a tax cut. 0:04:26.040 --> 0:04:28.280 We're going to take eighty two percent of Marylanders and 0:04:28.320 --> 0:04:30.360 say we're actually going to make sure that you pay 0:04:31.040 --> 0:04:34.920 pay either less in taxes or there's no change. We 0:04:34.960 --> 0:04:37.479 did not raise the sales tax, we did not raise 0:04:37.520 --> 0:04:40.359 the income tax. We've cut the corporate tax rate in 0:04:40.400 --> 0:04:43.360 the State of Maryland, and we've eliminated the inheritance tax. 0:04:43.560 --> 0:04:45.400 And for a lot of people it did seem a 0:04:45.440 --> 0:04:47.520 little bit odd because they're like, well, why don't you 0:04:47.560 --> 0:04:50.800 just raise sales taxes or raise property taxes? And my 0:04:50.920 --> 0:04:53.640 answer is this a I would have found that to 0:04:53.680 --> 0:04:57.159 be just a lazy way of thinking because it's not reform. 0:04:57.320 --> 0:04:59.559 We've got to reform the tax code. And the second 0:04:59.600 --> 0:05:02.760 piece is it's not pro growth. I actually want to 0:05:02.800 --> 0:05:05.479 attract businesses to come to the State of Maryland. And 0:05:05.480 --> 0:05:08.480 that's why in our budget we have some historic adjustments 0:05:08.480 --> 0:05:14.000 to doing regulatory reform, permitting reform, procurement reform. Actually, we've 0:05:14.160 --> 0:05:17.560 announced an executive order focusing on government modernization, where it's 0:05:17.600 --> 0:05:20.400 all about getting rid of the government waste, getting rid 0:05:20.480 --> 0:05:25.880 of the unnecessary spending, doing consolidation, doing flee consolidation. It consolidation, 0:05:27.000 --> 0:05:29.719 focusing on real estate, I mean, all things that we 0:05:29.760 --> 0:05:32.320 can make get our economy going. And so that has 0:05:32.360 --> 0:05:34.640 been the focus, is that we've got to get out 0:05:34.680 --> 0:05:37.039 of this crisis by focusing on growth. 0:05:37.520 --> 0:05:40.880 So, as we talk, Donald Trump is about to be 0:05:40.920 --> 0:05:43.960 inaugurated again as President of the United States. So, as 0:05:44.000 --> 0:05:47.400 a democratic leader and a democratic governor of Maryland, a 0:05:47.520 --> 0:05:51.000 very democratic state, do you feel like you're a leader 0:05:51.040 --> 0:05:53.200 of the opposition or do you feel like your job 0:05:53.279 --> 0:05:55.560 is to cooperate with him? Or how do you view 0:05:55.600 --> 0:05:58.479 Donald Trump as somebody that you work with or oppose. 0:05:58.880 --> 0:06:01.520 Yeah, I mean, I'm not the leader of the resistance. 0:06:01.560 --> 0:06:03.880 I'm the governor of Maryland. I've got six and a 0:06:03.880 --> 0:06:07.200 half million people who I answer to, and some of 0:06:07.240 --> 0:06:09.640 whom voted for Donald Trump, some of whom did not 0:06:09.720 --> 0:06:11.840 vote for Donald Trump. But the thing that I know 0:06:11.960 --> 0:06:13.359 is that the thing they all have in common is 0:06:13.400 --> 0:06:16.760 they're Marylanders. And so the way I'm going to approach 0:06:17.200 --> 0:06:20.080 this working with the new administration is the way that 0:06:20.080 --> 0:06:23.360 I will approach working with any administration. Where I understand 0:06:23.360 --> 0:06:27.599 how tethered Maryland is to Washington and to the federal government. 0:06:27.600 --> 0:06:30.960 We have over one hundred and sixty thousand federal employees. 0:06:31.040 --> 0:06:32.760 We are the home of some of the largest federal 0:06:32.800 --> 0:06:36.080 installations in the country here in the state of Maryland. 0:06:36.160 --> 0:06:39.040 That a lot of our infrastructure projects are being underwritten 0:06:39.240 --> 0:06:42.440 by the federal government, to include the Key Bridge. So 0:06:42.520 --> 0:06:45.960 I understand how important that relationship is, and I am 0:06:46.120 --> 0:06:48.919 I am very clear that I will work with this 0:06:49.040 --> 0:06:53.919 administration and find ways of finding common sense solutions that 0:06:53.960 --> 0:06:57.120 are going to uplift Maryland, invest in Maryland, support Maryland. 0:06:57.360 --> 0:06:59.839 I'll push back on things that I think are either 0:07:00.240 --> 0:07:04.000 don't make sense or or unconstitutional or challenge our values. 0:07:04.240 --> 0:07:08.320 But I am approaching this truly with a sense, with 0:07:08.400 --> 0:07:09.280 a sense of partnership. 0:07:09.320 --> 0:07:11.760 Why do you think Maryland has now become such a 0:07:11.880 --> 0:07:13.720 liberal state, such a democratic state? 0:07:13.840 --> 0:07:16.840 We tell people that we are. This is the northernmost 0:07:16.840 --> 0:07:19.800 southern state. I'm one of the only democratic southern governors 0:07:20.320 --> 0:07:23.080 inside of the country. That the bloodiest battles of the 0:07:23.080 --> 0:07:26.520 Civil War took place in the state of Maryland. I'm 0:07:26.680 --> 0:07:29.520 the first black governor in the history of the state 0:07:29.560 --> 0:07:33.200 of Maryland. That literally down the street is the docks 0:07:33.840 --> 0:07:37.200 of the Annapolis Docks, which was one of the country's 0:07:37.200 --> 0:07:40.480 first and largest slave ports. That the building we're in 0:07:40.560 --> 0:07:42.680 right now, the state capital, was built by the hands 0:07:42.720 --> 0:07:46.600 of enslaved people. So the dichotomy and the complexity of 0:07:46.640 --> 0:07:49.520 this state is very real, but it's one of the 0:07:49.520 --> 0:07:51.640 things that I take a real sense of pride in. 0:07:51.960 --> 0:07:54.920 Now, you ran for governor initially in twenty twenty two, 0:07:55.360 --> 0:07:59.720 and we're elected overwhelmingly. You're up for reelection in twenty 0:07:59.800 --> 0:08:02.760 two twenty six. Yes, you haven't announced yet. I don't 0:08:02.800 --> 0:08:03.880 think that you're running. 0:08:04.760 --> 0:08:06.440 I can announce now I'm running for re elections. 0:08:06.440 --> 0:08:10.200 Okay, so you're running for reelection as governor. I think 0:08:10.240 --> 0:08:12.760 you're likely to win based on everything I known about 0:08:12.760 --> 0:08:16.840 Maryland politics. But the question you'll be asked is are 0:08:16.880 --> 0:08:19.400 you thinking of running as well for President of the 0:08:19.480 --> 0:08:20.200 United States? 0:08:20.880 --> 0:08:22.920 And the answer to that question is no. 0:08:23.720 --> 0:08:26.080 I've got the best job around and I love the 0:08:26.120 --> 0:08:28.360 momentum we're actually seeing in the state of Maryland. You know, 0:08:28.640 --> 0:08:32.079 I think about when I was first elected, Maryland was 0:08:32.160 --> 0:08:35.520 ranked forty third in the country in unemployment. Now Maryland's 0:08:35.520 --> 0:08:39.080 going on fifteen straight months of amongst the lowest unemployment 0:08:39.120 --> 0:08:42.040 rates in the entire country. When I was elected governor, 0:08:42.080 --> 0:08:45.080 Maryland was in the middle of a scourge of violent crime. 0:08:45.200 --> 0:08:47.960 Over an eight year period, Maryland saw our homicide rate 0:08:48.040 --> 0:08:51.360 nearly doubled. Baltimore City had eight straight years of three 0:08:51.480 --> 0:08:56.160 hundred plus homicides. Now Maryland has amongst the most precipitous 0:08:56.240 --> 0:08:59.600 drops in violent crime of anywhere in the country right now. 0:08:59.640 --> 0:09:02.880 And so I love the momentum that we're seeing here 0:09:02.960 --> 0:09:04.960 and I want this to be Maryland's decade and I 0:09:04.960 --> 0:09:05.880 want to lead that charge. 0:09:06.240 --> 0:09:08.440 Suppose people come to you and say, you did a 0:09:08.440 --> 0:09:10.600 great job as Maryland governor. You just talked about some 0:09:10.640 --> 0:09:14.120 of the things you've done. You've been reelected overwhelmingly. The 0:09:14.240 --> 0:09:18.560 party really needs a charismatic figure to be the leader 0:09:18.640 --> 0:09:20.440 in the post Donald Trump era. 0:09:21.640 --> 0:09:25.360 You would say, I would say people should pay attention 0:09:25.400 --> 0:09:28.280 to what we're doing here in Maryland, Okay, because I 0:09:28.280 --> 0:09:31.439 think the momentum we're seeing here in Maryland, and I know, 0:09:31.360 --> 0:09:33.680 you know, Maryland are seemed very happy. Our numbers are 0:09:33.840 --> 0:09:37.360 very strong here. But people seem to people understand that 0:09:37.400 --> 0:09:40.320 the momentum we're we're having here is really big and important. 0:09:40.320 --> 0:09:40.480 To me. 0:09:40.600 --> 0:09:42.800 The biggest city in the state is Baltimore. Why is 0:09:42.840 --> 0:09:44.200 Baltimore so important to you. 0:09:44.320 --> 0:09:47.760 It's our state's largest city, and if your state's largest 0:09:47.760 --> 0:09:50.840 city is not thriving, your state can't thrive. And that 0:09:50.960 --> 0:09:54.400 is just a mathematical equation because the only way this 0:09:54.440 --> 0:09:56.720 is going to be Maryland's decade is if it's Baltimore's time. 0:09:57.040 --> 0:09:58.960 And so that's why we did focus on things like 0:09:59.200 --> 0:10:02.439 being able to extend the Oriole's lease and make sure 0:10:02.440 --> 0:10:04.200 the Oreos could be it for thirty years. It's the 0:10:04.200 --> 0:10:06.200 reason we focus on things like the Preakness and keeping 0:10:06.240 --> 0:10:09.480 the Preakness in Maryland for generations to come. While we've 0:10:09.520 --> 0:10:12.640 invested in the Convention Center, the reason we focused on 0:10:12.760 --> 0:10:15.960 housing and getting rid of the vacant housing, the reason 0:10:15.960 --> 0:10:18.920 we focus on violent crime, and now Baltimore is having 0:10:18.920 --> 0:10:21.280 among the most precipitous drop of anywhere in the country 0:10:21.480 --> 0:10:24.520 when it comes to homicides and non fatal shootings and 0:10:24.640 --> 0:10:29.280 carjackings and auto thefts. So if you can have Baltimore thriving, 0:10:29.920 --> 0:10:31.680 your state is going to thrive. 0:10:31.760 --> 0:10:34.840 Okay, let's talk about your background, which is quite unusual. 0:10:36.000 --> 0:10:36.800 Where were you born. 0:10:37.160 --> 0:10:39.840 I was born in Maryland in Tacoma Park, Maryland. 0:10:39.559 --> 0:10:41.559 Okay, And your parents did what. 0:10:42.320 --> 0:10:47.880 My father was a radio journalist and my mother actually 0:10:47.960 --> 0:10:48.679 was his assistant. 0:10:48.920 --> 0:10:51.440 So your father died when you were only three years old. 0:10:51.880 --> 0:10:55.120 Yeah, he died from something called acute epicatitis, which is basically, 0:10:55.440 --> 0:10:57.640 you know the epiglottis that all of us have. It's 0:10:57.679 --> 0:10:59.160 a flat that sits over your wind pipe and every 0:10:59.160 --> 0:11:02.000 time you breathe and talk, and his became so swollen 0:11:02.000 --> 0:11:05.600 that it just sat on top of his windpipe. So basically, 0:11:05.640 --> 0:11:09.520 his body suffocated itself and he actually died in front 0:11:09.520 --> 0:11:09.640 of me. 0:11:10.320 --> 0:11:12.599 And did you realize what was happening when it was 0:11:12.640 --> 0:11:13.920 going on you're only three years old. 0:11:14.040 --> 0:11:18.280 I did, And in fact, my mother tells a story 0:11:18.320 --> 0:11:21.800 about how at his funeral, my uncle Vin took me 0:11:21.920 --> 0:11:24.800 up to go see his body for the final time 0:11:24.800 --> 0:11:27.280 in the casket, and I actually touched him and I 0:11:27.320 --> 0:11:29.000 asked him if he was going to come with us. 0:11:29.400 --> 0:11:31.680 So even at that time, I still had no idea 0:11:31.800 --> 0:11:34.960 what had fully happened, and didn't really process until I 0:11:34.960 --> 0:11:35.400 got older. 0:11:35.440 --> 0:11:37.040 So you have siblings, I do. 0:11:37.200 --> 0:11:39.360 I have an older sister and a younger sister, and 0:11:39.400 --> 0:11:41.520 my mother had a really tough time with the transition, 0:11:41.679 --> 0:11:44.000 and she didn't feel safe in the neighborhood she didn't 0:11:44.000 --> 0:11:46.040 feel safe in the house, and so she called up 0:11:46.040 --> 0:11:47.800 her parents, my grandparents. 0:11:47.880 --> 0:11:49.880 And then you grew up there and were you a 0:11:49.920 --> 0:11:51.680 great student? Were you're a great athlete? 0:11:51.760 --> 0:11:54.480 I was not a great student. But what was really 0:11:54.480 --> 0:11:57.960 interesting was that the work actually came easy to me. 0:11:59.440 --> 0:12:02.680 The attention into detail and the interest in doing it 0:12:03.000 --> 0:12:05.840 did not. And so by the time I was eleven 0:12:05.920 --> 0:12:09.600 years old, I had handcuffoer risks. By the time I 0:12:09.840 --> 0:12:13.320 was thirteen, I was kicked out of my school and 0:12:13.360 --> 0:12:17.120 I was sent to a military school in Pennsylvania. So 0:12:17.280 --> 0:12:20.640 I had a really difficult time transitioning when I was younger. 0:12:20.720 --> 0:12:22.760 So you went to the military school and it was 0:12:22.800 --> 0:12:24.840 sort of a college and a high school combined. 0:12:25.360 --> 0:12:27.800 It was it was it was a junior college, so 0:12:27.840 --> 0:12:30.520 it was a two year college and also a middle 0:12:30.559 --> 0:12:33.120 school in a high school. That's the thing that changed 0:12:33.480 --> 0:12:36.400 everything for me at the military school was they put 0:12:36.400 --> 0:12:39.400 me in charge of something and I was actually accountable 0:12:39.480 --> 0:12:42.880 to other people from my actions. And that's why I 0:12:43.240 --> 0:12:46.000 just believed deeply in accountability because I think that's actually 0:12:46.080 --> 0:12:47.720 it's one of the things I helped to save my life. 0:12:47.840 --> 0:12:50.720 So you went into the military, the Army, and you 0:12:50.760 --> 0:12:52.640 were there for a year or so before you went 0:12:52.679 --> 0:12:53.319 to Hopkins. 0:12:53.360 --> 0:12:55.680 So I went to I was there for two I 0:12:55.720 --> 0:12:58.160 was in two years, so I finished up. I got 0:12:58.240 --> 0:13:00.319 my associates degree. So in fact, I want the only 0:13:00.360 --> 0:13:03.640 governors in the country actually with a two year college degree. 0:13:03.679 --> 0:13:06.600 That's actually this ring right here. And then I transferred 0:13:06.640 --> 0:13:09.240 after finishing my associate's degree, and then I went to 0:13:09.360 --> 0:13:10.840 Johns Hopkins to finish my mindorgrad. 0:13:10.920 --> 0:13:13.840 So who told you you should apply for a Rhodes scholarship. 0:13:14.600 --> 0:13:17.760 It was actually actually a mutual friend of ours, Kirchmoke. 0:13:18.800 --> 0:13:21.800 I interned with Kirchmok who at that time was the 0:13:21.800 --> 0:13:24.760 mayor of Baltimore. And in fact, I have a picture 0:13:24.960 --> 0:13:28.200 in my office of him pointing to a picture in 0:13:28.200 --> 0:13:30.719 his office back when I was a young intern and 0:13:30.760 --> 0:13:33.920 i'd hair and he was a young mayor he had hair, 0:13:34.400 --> 0:13:36.880 and the picture he's pointing to is actually his Rhodes 0:13:36.880 --> 0:13:40.960 Scholarship class. And it was in that moment that he 0:13:41.040 --> 0:13:43.000 was telling me, I want you to apply for the 0:13:43.040 --> 0:13:43.880 Rhodes Scholarship. 0:13:43.960 --> 0:13:46.480 So you got a Rhodes scholarship, which is only thirty 0:13:46.480 --> 0:13:49.640 two Americans every year get them you went to Oxford. 0:13:50.280 --> 0:13:52.000 When you got there, did you study anything? 0:13:52.120 --> 0:13:55.160 I actually studied. I got my amlet or master's in 0:13:55.160 --> 0:13:58.160 international relations, and I actually started the DFIL. So right 0:13:58.160 --> 0:14:02.240 now I'm all by dissertation for my doctorate in international relations. 0:14:02.240 --> 0:14:02.560 Okay. 0:14:02.640 --> 0:14:05.760 So, usually when people finish their Rhodes scholarships and they 0:14:05.800 --> 0:14:08.080 get degrees, or they don't get degrees, they come back 0:14:08.120 --> 0:14:10.600 and they run for office, They go to a private 0:14:10.600 --> 0:14:13.000 equity firm, they go to an investment banking firm, they 0:14:13.080 --> 0:14:16.560 teach at someplace. You did something different. What did you 0:14:16.640 --> 0:14:18.080 do after your Rhodes scholarship? 0:14:18.200 --> 0:14:20.480 So what was interesting? Initially? I actually went into the 0:14:20.480 --> 0:14:24.080 world of finance. And I remember getting a phone call 0:14:25.000 --> 0:14:26.920 from a friend of mine who was at that time 0:14:26.960 --> 0:14:30.280 a major, and he called me, and a major in 0:14:30.280 --> 0:14:33.400 the army, he just finished twenty Rock. He was getting 0:14:33.400 --> 0:14:36.640 ready to deployed to Afghanistan. And he called me and 0:14:36.680 --> 0:14:38.000 he said, when are you going to get in the fight? 0:14:39.600 --> 0:14:42.560 And that was such an indicting question because he was 0:14:42.640 --> 0:14:45.520 right that I had trained with all these people. I'd 0:14:45.520 --> 0:14:50.000 done my airborne training, I became a paratrooper, and these 0:14:50.120 --> 0:14:51.720 many of these people were now on their second and 0:14:51.760 --> 0:14:55.440 third deployments and I hadn't done a single one yet, 0:14:56.040 --> 0:15:00.240 and so I made the decision and I left. I 0:15:00.360 --> 0:15:03.760 left banking, and I linked up with the eighty second 0:15:03.800 --> 0:15:06.160 Airborne Division and we deployed to Afghanistan. 0:15:06.560 --> 0:15:08.280 How many years were you in Afghanistan? 0:15:08.400 --> 0:15:10.120 I was there for almost a full year. I was 0:15:10.160 --> 0:15:13.080 thankful for the people I was serving with. The eighty 0:15:13.120 --> 0:15:15.560 second is some of the best, some of the best 0:15:15.600 --> 0:15:17.920 and most hard charging soldiers that the Army's ever created. 0:15:18.520 --> 0:15:20.800 And there were really hard days. 0:15:20.960 --> 0:15:22.520 So you came back and then what did you do 0:15:22.560 --> 0:15:23.360 when you came back? 0:15:23.680 --> 0:15:27.080 I actually did a White House Fellowship and part of 0:15:27.080 --> 0:15:30.920 it was was my deputy brigade commander was also a 0:15:30.920 --> 0:15:31.880 former White House Fellow. 0:15:32.040 --> 0:15:34.160 After you finished your White House Fellowship, then what did 0:15:34.200 --> 0:15:34.400 you do? 0:15:35.080 --> 0:15:38.080 Went to City City Bank at that point, and so 0:15:38.120 --> 0:15:40.720 then I spent about I spent closet to five years 0:15:40.800 --> 0:15:45.080 working for City doing investment banking, doing M and A, 0:15:45.240 --> 0:15:47.200 and also doing technology. 0:15:47.280 --> 0:15:48.840 Okay, she did that for a number of years and 0:15:48.840 --> 0:15:52.280 then an organization came along called robin Hood and they 0:15:52.320 --> 0:15:54.960 said we want you to head it up. What is 0:15:55.040 --> 0:15:56.880 Robinhood and why did you take that job? 0:15:56.960 --> 0:16:00.560 It's one of the nation's largest poverty fighting organizations. It 0:16:00.760 --> 0:16:05.600 started really over thirty years ago, and it started with 0:16:06.000 --> 0:16:08.560 an initial idea of saying, what if you could take 0:16:08.600 --> 0:16:11.480 analytics and data the same way we take analytics and 0:16:11.560 --> 0:16:15.040 data when we're making trading decisions when we're buying companies, 0:16:15.360 --> 0:16:17.200 and put that towards the poverty fight. 0:16:17.720 --> 0:16:22.000 So, after four years at Robinhood, you decide to run 0:16:22.080 --> 0:16:25.240 for governor of Maryland, never having run for anything else before, 0:16:25.400 --> 0:16:27.880 Never did you think you had a chance. 0:16:28.800 --> 0:16:31.200 The data didn't seem to show I had a chance. 0:16:31.320 --> 0:16:33.840 I mean I was pulling at one percent in our 0:16:33.840 --> 0:16:36.680 first poll. I mean, I say it is true, literally, 0:16:36.720 --> 0:16:40.440 I'm not voting, was polling higher than Wesmore. And so 0:16:40.920 --> 0:16:44.680 the data showed I was running against statewide elected officials. 0:16:44.920 --> 0:16:47.040 I was running against the former head of the DNC. 0:16:47.760 --> 0:16:50.360 I was running against two cabinet secretaries. One of the 0:16:50.400 --> 0:16:52.680 people I was running against was actually on my board 0:16:53.120 --> 0:16:56.560 at Robinhood, which made board meetings very awkward. So I'm like, 0:16:56.760 --> 0:16:59.120 I had people who were just like who were seasoned 0:16:59.120 --> 0:17:00.560 at this. But I think I think the thing that 0:17:00.560 --> 0:17:03.840 actually really resonated with people is that I don't come 0:17:03.880 --> 0:17:06.960 from a political background. I don't come from a political family. 0:17:07.359 --> 0:17:10.280 I don't do the politician thing. I don't do the 0:17:10.280 --> 0:17:14.119 partisan thing. I just really focus on results and actually 0:17:14.160 --> 0:17:15.920 meeting people where they are. And I think that actually 0:17:15.960 --> 0:17:16.720 resonated with folks. 0:17:16.800 --> 0:17:20.399 So when you get elected governor, do you actually say, 0:17:20.560 --> 0:17:22.200 I'm really happy now I'm governor. 0:17:22.240 --> 0:17:23.520 You took the job. 0:17:23.560 --> 0:17:25.919 In the first day you're sworn in, did you realize 0:17:26.040 --> 0:17:28.159 that the responsibilities are much greater than you thought or 0:17:28.200 --> 0:17:30.160 you actually thought. Wasn't that difficult a job? 0:17:30.480 --> 0:17:32.440 No? I mean it's a hard job because also I 0:17:32.440 --> 0:17:34.920 think there were things that we inherited that we did 0:17:34.960 --> 0:17:39.480 not that we didn't anticipate. You I remember coming in 0:17:39.680 --> 0:17:42.320 and being able to re reports that you realize after 0:17:42.359 --> 0:17:45.040 you came on board about the fiscal crisis that we 0:17:45.080 --> 0:17:48.040 are getting ready to inherit that you know, we're currently 0:17:48.080 --> 0:17:51.320 navigating the worst fiscal crisis that Maryland has seen in 0:17:51.400 --> 0:17:54.120 twenty years. And it's something that has been predicted since 0:17:54.119 --> 0:17:57.920 twenty and seventeen. But the problem was it wasn't dealt 0:17:57.960 --> 0:18:01.600 with because there was COVID money, and COVID money kept 0:18:01.600 --> 0:18:04.959 on masking the obstacles and masking the fact that our 0:18:05.000 --> 0:18:07.479 business model in the state of Maryland was broken, and 0:18:07.480 --> 0:18:10.119 that our economy wasn't moving. We were just so deeply 0:18:10.200 --> 0:18:13.040 underperforming when it came to growth, whether it be the 0:18:13.080 --> 0:18:16.280 way that Medicaid was being completely out of whack and 0:18:16.320 --> 0:18:20.080 had a billion dollar expenditure that was not anticipated and 0:18:20.080 --> 0:18:22.240 we need to see coming. There was a brokenness of 0:18:22.280 --> 0:18:26.119 state government that I don't think we fully understood, and 0:18:26.160 --> 0:18:29.280 so that's why our first priority had to be fixed 0:18:29.440 --> 0:18:30.240 state government. 0:18:30.640 --> 0:18:33.239 So what is your typical day as a governor? You 0:18:33.560 --> 0:18:36.000 do some interviews, maybe on an interview like this, but 0:18:36.119 --> 0:18:38.200 you are, let's say, at the beginning, every morning, is 0:18:38.240 --> 0:18:41.040 I understand it, you go over to the Naval Academy 0:18:41.359 --> 0:18:44.600 and you work out with the Navy midshipment, and I 0:18:44.600 --> 0:18:46.040 mean you're a little bit older than them. 0:18:46.720 --> 0:18:48.240 Is that a little day wouldn't know it? 0:18:49.119 --> 0:18:51.879 I do, And honestly I love the fact that the 0:18:51.960 --> 0:18:53.960 Naval Academy is down the street from here. And as 0:18:54.000 --> 0:18:55.879 an army guy, I always say, I just need to 0:18:55.920 --> 0:18:57.960 figure out who to talk to. They have that beat 0:18:58.040 --> 0:18:59.200 army stuff all over the place. 0:18:59.119 --> 0:19:00.000 So you can keep up with them. 0:19:00.280 --> 0:19:02.960 Oh yes, oh, there is no way as an army 0:19:03.000 --> 0:19:05.040 guy there's no way I'm letting maybe smoke me. 0:19:05.280 --> 0:19:05.680 No way. 0:19:05.920 --> 0:19:07.640 So I'm not going to get you to say you're 0:19:07.640 --> 0:19:08.520