California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been torching President Donald Trump on social media, mimicking the president’s distinctive tone. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the president is un-American for wanting to roll military troops in Chicago. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul put out a campaign ad with a clip of her declaring: “You can’t intimidate a governor.”

And now Maryland Gov. Wes Moore — who held much of his fire for months — has joined the anti-Trump fray, saying that “President Bone Spurs” needs to “keep our names out of your mouth” if he was only interested in criticizing Baltimore.

That spurred days of back-and-forth between Moore and Trump — a recent and rapid escalation of rhetoric for Moore, who once declared “I am not the leader of the resistance, I’m the governor of Maryland” in taking an early wait-and-see approach with Trump.

Even as Trump turned his attention elsewhere after the peak back-and-forth early last week, Moore kept going. He told sportscaster Stephen A. Smith on a podcast: “I’m not a simp. I’m a soldier. And I’m not just going to kowtow.”

After a back-to-school visit at Meade High School, Moore said: “I would love for the president to actually stay focused on what matters, and know that he should stop worrying about me and start worrying about the people of this country.”

It’s certainly gained attention for Moore, a first-term Democratic governor with potential future national aspirations, as he’s made the rounds of TV shows with his tougher talk.

And both Moore’s campaign and the Maryland Democratic Party have been fundraising off the dispute, with one state party email blaring: “Governor Wes Moore is calling out Donald Trump!”

But could Moore face risks with his new strategy?

Moore has been criticized by the right, with some Republicans saying it’s counterproductive to provoke the Republican president.

Trump has made two explicit threats to Maryland during his back-and-forth with Moore: To send the National Guard into Baltimore, which he said is “so far gone” on crime, and to yank funding for the rebuild of the Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Patapsco River.

Either one would be a blow to the state and to the governor, but it’s unclear whether Trump has the authority to make them happen.

Political experts say there’s little downside to Moore standing up to Trump, given the president’s deep unpopularity in the state and Democrats’ desire to see more fight from their leaders. Moore has a 2026 gubernatorial reelection campaign in front of him and some view him as a presidential contender in 2028.

“Politically, I don’t think there’s a great threat to Moore from this,” said Todd Eberly, professor of political science and public policy at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

“Donald Trump is a very good political foil for Moore going into reelection,” Eberly said. “He’s going to basically say: Do you want to replace me with somebody who would simply kowtow to Donald Trump’s whims and not respect the sovereignty of the state? I think a fight over that politically, at least as far as Maryland is concerned, Moore comes out ahead.”

Maryland’s electorate is tilted to favor Democrats, who make up about 53% of registered voters. And in Maryland and elsewhere, polls have shown that Democrats are pushing elected officials, including Moore, to stand up to the president.

“Wes Moore is very much reflecting what Democrats have been saying nationwide. They want somebody who fights,” said Mileah Kromer, director of the Institute of Politics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

The attention on Moore hasn’t translated yet to increased national popularity. An Emerson College poll taken Monday and Tuesday — at the height of the war of words — found Moore with 1.9% support among Democrats as a potential 2028 presidential candidate. Newsom, with his brash anti-Trump online persona, led the field with 25%.

Moore has said that he’s appropriately fighting for the residents of the state, who have already seen a number of harmful decisions from Trump and the federal government, from the gutting of the federal workforce and the denial of emergency aid for Western Maryland flooding to the reversal of a decision to build a new FBI headquarters in Prince George’s County.

“The people of my state need me now, and I’m locked in,” Moore said in an MSNBC interview Wednesday. “Because these are not glancing blows coming to the state of Maryland. These are direct shots.”

Eberly, from St. Mary’s College, said Moore has a responsibility in particular to push back against federal government overreach, such as threats of sending National Guard troops into Baltimore absent a crisis or disaster.

“A governor can’t sit quietly in a situation like that unless you’re abandoning Constitutional norms,” he said. “I think Moore was pulled into this and had to push back.”

Kyle Kondik, from the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, said governors are taking the National Guard threats seriously — including Moore.

“I see it as something a lot of Democratic governors are doing. I think there are going to be increasing battles between governors and this administration over this National Guard question that’s looming,” said Kondik, the center’s managing editor for Sabato’s Crystal Ball, which offers nonpartisan elections handicapping and analysis.

It’s possible that Moore was eager to make the conversation about Trump’s provocations, after a series of challenges this year including closing a budget gap with unpopular cuts and tax hikes and the departures of several top aides.

While challenging Trump may not have much political risk for Moore, it’s not without potential tradeoffs.

Trump has been threatening to halt or delay the rebuild of the Key Bridge, which collapsed in March 2024 after being struck by a cargo ship. Six men working on the bridge were killed, shipping was halted for weeks and commutes have been altered ever since.

Moore has said he wants to have the new bridge open in 2028, which means an on-time project could stand as a signature achievement of his tenure as voters are about to choose the next president. Crews have started to tear down the remains of the old bridge and planning is under way for the replacement.

Congress agreed to provide 100% of the funding last December, before Trump took office, and Moore has argued that the Key Bridge money wasn’t given to the state by Trump, and he can’t take it away.

Maryland has some money to work with to keep the project going, even if Trump throws up roadblocks. The state already has in hand a $60 million federal emergency relief grant that it’s been using for some expenses, plus a $350 million payout from the bridge’s insurer. But with the total rebuild estimated to cost in the billions of dollars, that money will only last so long.

If the federal money doesn’t come through — and it’s not clear the president can block it — UMBC’s Kromer said it’s unlikely that voters would blame Moore.

“I would be surprised if people, Democrats particularly, would ever blame the governor for President Trump trying to revoke that funding,” she said.

And while the Trump administration has not been shy about targeting workers, projects or funding going to blue states, they could always find new ways to squeeze Maryland.

Moore, for his part, seems prepared to keep fighting as the state is “being attacked by the federal government,” Moore said on MSNBC.

Noting his background as an Army officer, he added: “I’m a soldier and I’m standing my guard.”