WASHINGTON TIMES: DAVID BOSSIE: Wes Moore, professional leftist

The toxic mixture of Trump derangement syndrome and 2028 Democratic presidential aspirations is bad news for residents of blue states who are yearning for commonsense policies instead of the same old, same old from their radical, left-wing governors.

Look no further than Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s irrational opposition to President Trump’s bold decision to mobilize National Guard troops to confront the crime epidemic in our nation’s capital once and for all.

Instead of working with the president on issues of public safety and fighting crime in cities such as Baltimore, Mr. Moore has pandered to out-of-touch liberal donors by demonstrating he’s a typical, one-dimensional, anti-Trump politician too.

The stale dog and pony show on display by the likes of Mr. Moore, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker should come as no surprise at this point. After a decade of Trump deranged lunacy, for the unhinged left, it looks like it’s too late to turn back now. Apparently, Democrats have learned nothing from the horrendous Biden-Harris years or their disastrous 2024 presidential campaign.

The serious crime problem that has plagued big cities year after year is no secret. In fact, for folks who live in these places and for those who visit, it has become an unfortunate reality. It’s simply a fact of life that in cities suffering from the scourge of one-party Democratic control, nothing ever changes when it comes to public safety. Sadly, too many liberal mayors and governors like Mr. Moore have become experts at convincing people that propping up the failed status quo is progress. This isn’t leadership.

Mr. Trump’s historic reelection made it clear that the American people are sick and tired of defunding the police, soft-on-crime, George Soros-funded prosecutors, record drug overdoses and cashless bail. Voters said unequivocally that they wanted a return to law and order, whether it’s on the border or in our neighborhoods, and Mr. Trump is delivering. His approach to public policy and implementing innovative reform is the mirror opposite of grandstanding Democratic governors such as Messrs. Moore, Newsom and Pritzker.

Once the president identifies a problem, he refuses to let it fester. Special interests, political taboos and tough issues deemed too risky to touch don’t intimidate him. One great example is his triumph in securing the border in record time. President Biden swore that he needed a new law to solve the border crisis he created, but Mr. Trump recognized that he had the power to fix it himself, and he got to work. The same goes for the crime disaster in the District of Columbia. The president saw that he had the power to do something about it, so he mobilized the National Guard to take the city back. Lo and behold, there were zero homicides in the District for 12 straight days.

However, Mr. Moore couldn’t oppose Mr. Trump’s law-and-order push fast enough. Not only is he against troops making the District safer, but he also soundly rejected the idea of allowing troops to help secure the streets of Baltimore. The proximity of our nation’s capital to Baltimore is bad optics for Mr. Moore. As Marylanders watch Mr. Trump’s success story in the District unfold, they will wonder why Mr. Moore isn’t at least considering the president’s offer of help.

Mr. Trump recently labeled Baltimore a “deathbed” because he will not turn a blind eye to an ongoing tragedy while he’s in office. He knows there is a glaring problem, as do the American people, and he will address it head-on.

It’s like a breath of fresh air compared with the tone-deaf machine politicians on the left who would rather collude with their allies in the biased media to mask the disgraceful crime catastrophes in big cities instead of doing something about it. For Mr. Trump, headlines like “Baltimore named deadliest large city in the U.S., surpasses Memphis and Detroit” and “Baltimore ranked fourth most dangerous U.S. city in new poll” are totally unacceptable.

The sad truth is that Maryland residents will continue to suffer as Mr. Moore positions himself to run for president in 2028. The governor’s premature flirtation with the White House shows that his main constituents are not voters in Baltimore, Annapolis or Rockville but rather far-left Democratic voters in early primary states and wealthy liberal benefactors in New York and California.

Vice President J.D. Vance was spot-on when he recently said, “Why are Democrat governors angrier about federal law enforcement helping clean up their streets than they are about the fact that those streets need to be cleaned up to begin with? It shows a real sickness in the head.” He is onto something. It does take a certain sickness to double down on failure, but that’s what Democratic governors like Wes Moore are determined to do.

The left will never understand that the American people want safe streets, low taxes and fewer fees, secure borders and the prioritization of American citizens over illegal immigrants. Instead of playing political games, Mr. Moore should put Maryland first.

David N. Bossie is the president of Citizens United. He served as a senior adviser to the Trump 2024 and 2020 campaigns. He served as deputy campaign manager for Donald J. Trump for President in 2016 and deputy executive director for the Trump transition team.