Steve Inskeep

He's considered a rising Democratic star, and he's sometimes talked about as a future presidential candidate.

Moore is also an American combat veteran, and that was relevant to the discussion we had here in the Maryland Statehouse.

I want to ask about some news.

What are you thinking as your former unit, the 82nd Airborne Division, is deployed to the Middle East?

When you talk about defining the mission, that's in a broad strategic sense.

I want to ask a tactical question.

As someone who served, there is talk of sending these troops perhaps to seize an island.

You wouldn't attack Iran, the mainland, but you might try to seize an island.

What does it take for a few thousand American troops to seize an island under fire?

The president never did address the nation.

Even if you disagree with starting the war, does the United States now have to fight it through to a victory because a victory by Iran would be so disastrous?

How would you define that if you were president?

How would you have handled Iran if it was in your lap and it was back in February before the shooting started and you know there's these negotiations going on, you know that Israel regards Iran as a threat, the United States has concerns about Iran's nuclear program, what would you have done?

Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, said the president was the one who would be allowed to define the imminent threat and that he did.

We're talking during a week that is the anniversary of an event here in Maryland, the collapse of the Key Bridge outside of Baltimore.

So two years ago, that happened in 2024.

In 2025, as many people will know, you had an exchange of words with the president, and he threatened to cut off funding for repairing that bridge, rebuilding that bridge.

In early 2026, though—

Things had progressed to the point where you put out a joint statement with Sean Duffy, the Transportation Secretary, hailing progress.

What changed?