Is it True or is it Poo?

By Don Mohler

Let’s start with a simple truth: sometimes a pile of chicken poo is just that- chicken poo.

The recent attacks, and the right’s faux outrage, concerning Governor Wes Moore’s “integrity” would be laughable if it weren’t so dangerous. Laughable? Yes, if the attacks did not expose a much deeper pathology in our nation. Back in 2015, Donald J. Trump pranced around the nation screaming that President Barack Obama was born in Kenya and not the United States of America. He invented the “birther controversy,” a conspiracy that still persists to this day. Now, another charismatic African-American leader, who happens to be the Governor of Maryland, is coming under increasingly bizarre attacks from the right-wing bloggers munching Cheetos in their mom’s basements, hiding behind fake names on social media. Unfortunately, they now have an ally in the once reputable Baltimore Sun.

Come on folks, rip the band-aid off.  Is it just a coincidence that both President Obama and Governor Moore are African-American leaders whose appeal crosses racial lines? You and I both know the answer.

It is not surprising that the most vitriolic challenges to political legitimacy in recent memory have targeted Black men like Barack Obama and Wes Moore. Whether it is the birther movement that shadowed Obama’s presidency or the hyper-scrutiny of Governor Moore’s service and academic accolades, the underlying mechanism is the same: A group of keyboard vigilantes consistently demand a receipt for Black excellence because in their mind Black excellence is just not possible or acceptable. And that is reprehensible.

These aren’t merely partisan disagreements. They represent attempts to signal that Black success is inherently suspicious. By forcing these leaders to constantly defend their birthright or their achievements, detractors shift the conversation from policy to personhood, reinforcing the archaic idea that power is a space where “the others” do not naturally belong. Even when Black men “play by all the rules”—becoming Ivy League scholars, military leaders, or constitutional lawyers, or God forbid, President—the goalposts of legitimacy are moved specifically to keep them on the defensive. Do we apply the same standard to white officials when looking at their resumes? We do not.

Now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s take a look at some of the recent poo regarding Governor Moore. In other words, is the chatter coming from the Cheeto gang and the Sun true or is it poo? Let’s find out.

If you’ve been scrolling through the news lately, you might have seen some eye-catching headlines: “Moore’s Approval Rating Slides Below 50%,” one screams. “Poll Shows Steady Downtick,” says another. On the surface, it looks like a clear narrative: a popular governor losing steam.

But if we put down the megaphone and pick up a calculator, a very different story emerges. When you look at the last three polls from the UMBC Institute of Politics, the data tells us something that isn’t as exciting for a headline: Governor Moore’s approval rating is, for all intents and purposes, basically unchanged. Why? Because of a nerdy little thing called margin of error. It may indeed be wonky, but it is very important. Every poll is just a snapshot based on a sample of people. Because you can’t talk to every single Marylander, there is a built-in range of uncertainty. The margin of error in the UMBC polls is 3.5%. The polls completed over the past two years show the Governor with 54, 52 and 48 percent approval, which means that when the margin of error is applied, the Governor’s approval rating is holding steady, numbers that for an incumbent Governor who is actually trying to govern are quite strong. So, are headlines claiming that Moore’s poll numbers are plummeting true or are they poo? The answer is a resounding poo!

One of my favorites put forth by the basement crowd is that Governor Moore lied about receiving a Bronze Star. Again, coming from guys who wouldn’t know a recruiting station if they saw one, this is outrageous. But in a crazy world driven by clickbait, a Black man keeps getting asked about this stupidity and is supposed to dignify the question by responding. By now you’ve heard the story.

While serving as an Army captain in the 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan, Governor Wes Moore applied for a prestigious White House Fellowship in the Bush administration. On the application, he listed that he had received the Bronze Star. The Governor stated that his deputy brigade commander, Michael Fenzel, told him he had been recommended for the award and that it had been approved by senior leadership. Fenzel reportedly encouraged Moore to include it on his application, assuring him that the paperwork would be finalized by the time his fellowship began.

A pesky little fact: Fenzel has confirmed this story on multiple occasions. Following the public controversy, Lieutenant General Michael Fenzel resubmitted the nomination. After a review of his service records by the Army, Governor Moore was officially awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious service in a ceremony held on December 20, 2024. Did he correct some talk show hosts along the way who introduced him as a Bronze Star recipient while appearing on their shows to promote his book? He did not, and he has made it clear he regrets not doing so. Does that diminish his service or refute the fact that he was awarded a Bronze Star? It does not. So, is the charge that Governor Moore fabricated the fact that he won a Bronze Star true or is it poo? Poo it is.

Perhaps the most peculiar line of attack concerns the Governor’s education achievements. Moore’s status as a Rhodes Scholar is an objective fact. He attended the University of Oxford, where he earned an MLitt in International Relations. The attempt to frame his academic pedigree as “dishonest” usually hinges on semantic arguments regarding his status as a student or a fellow, or the specific timing of his degree completion. These are distractions from the reality of his achievement. Earning a Rhodes Scholarship is a rigorous, peer-reviewed process that leaves little room for the kind of fabrication his critics allege. I don’t know about you, but I was not smart enough to be a Rhodes Scholar, and I’m pretty sure the Cheetos boys weren’t either.

But let’s not stop at that foolishness. Are we sure that the Governor actually attended Johns Hopkins University they ask. Once again, the evidence of Wes Moore’s graduation is well-documented through university records and official government biographies. Moore graduated in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts with a degree in International Relations and Economics. Oh, and by the way, he graduated Phi Beta Kappa. Again, neither I nor the Cheetos gang did that. Hopkins proudly states that Moore is its first Black Rhodes Scholar. So, are the attacks on Moore’s educational accomplishments true or are they poo?  You’ve got this one- a big pile of poo.

And for those of you playing along at home, in his book, “The Other Wes Moore,” the Governor states in the first 10 pages that he was born in Takoma Park, Maryland and then in chapter 2 he writes about his family moving to the Bronx. Perhaps the folks at the Sun and others may want to pick up a copy of the book which is still widely available to see whether or not Moore stated that he was born in Baltimore. He did not. So, for the final time, is the attack true or is it poo? The question answers itself.

Sadly, we need to recognize these attacks for what they are and what they say about us and who we’ve become. We have lost our ability to analyze information and determine facts. We are now resigned to the reality that keyboard cowboys can put spew outrageous attacks 24-7, knowing that those attacks will go viral at any moment. This discourages serious discussions about the real problems facing our nation. It is based on a belief that we are in a race to the bottom where we rely on the “both sides do it” argument that seems to prevail. They want you to say, “Hmm, I wonder if Obama was born in Kenya? I wonder if Moore did really jump out of airplanes in Afghanistan? Did he really forget where he was born? Did he make up going to Hopkins and becoming a Rhodes Scholar?” Of course, all of that is madness, but they are betting that you fall for the rope-a-dope over and over and over again. Unfortunately, far too many do just that.

Our challenge is to fight through the fog and become warriors for truth. We can’t give up. We can’t disengage. This is not a drill. This is a battle we have to win.

Don Mohler is the former Baltimore County Executive and is currently President and CEO of Mohler Communication Strategies. He may be reached at don@donmohler.com