Former President Joe Biden’s administration did Maryland Gov. Wes Moore a solid last December when the Defense Department issued him a Bronze Star, which he had wrongfully claimed he received 18 years earlier.
Moore, whose name has been floated as a 2028 hopeful, made headlines recently by “standing up” to President Donald Trump’s push for federal involvement to address crime in the nation’s cities.
Trump said in the Oval Office on Monday that Moore had called him the “greatest president of my lifetime” at the Army-Navy game in December.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) is all smiles as he greets President Donald J. Trump at the @ArmyNavyGame pic.twitter.com/0Ml2cfwIDA
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) December 14, 2024
Moore quickly denied it, posting on social media “lol” and “keep telling yourself that, Mr. President.”
— Wes Moore (@iamwesmoore) August 25, 2025
On Thursday, Trump appeared to call Moore’s integrity into question, posting a headline of the governor falsely claiming he had received the Bronze Star while serving in the U.S. Army Reserves.
“But is that the end of his political career. He was very disrespectful to the Office of the President!” Trump stated.
Donald Trump Truth Social Post 02:12 AM EST 08/28/25
But is that the end of his political career. He was very disrespectful to the Office of the President! pic.twitter.com/tqIIfle1ut
— Fan Donald J. Trump Posts From Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) August 28, 2025
The Hill headline Trump posted was actually based on an in-depth stolen valor story The New York Times did last August, shortly after the Democratic National Convention.
The outlet noted that when Moore ran for governor in 2022, the issue came up of his falsely claiming to receive the Bronze Star for his Army service in Afghanistan in his White House fellowship application.
“Mr. Moore submitted the application in January 2006, he had not been awarded either the Bronze Star or the Combat Action Badge. He was awarded the badge in May 2006 for an episode the previous December, but there is no record showing that he ever received a Bronze Star, an Army spokeswoman said,” according to The New York Times.
Moore told the outlet last summer that it was “an honest mistake,” saying that his superior officer informed him the paperwork for the award had been submitted and those up the chain of command had approved it.
But Moore never received the medal, which often happens with a medal pinning ceremony. At the very least, soldiers are given the certificate and the ribbon.
Additionally, Moore would have received a DD214 form upon leaving the military in 2014, listing all the medals he had received.
“Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, who was the commander of U.S. troops in Afghanistan after Mr. Moore’s deployment and did not meet him until years later, said it was not uncommon for military award nominations to get lost in processing,” The New York Times said.
“I don’t know how many times since I’ve retired that I’ve [had] people come to me trying to get an award that they told me that they had been recommended for that they never got,” McChrystal told the outlet.
Nonetheless, McChrystal acknowledged Moore should not have written in the White House application that he had received the Bronze Star. He said it clearly “would have been more elegant” to write that he was recommended for the awards.
Further, during a 2008 interview on PBS and a 2010 interview with Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert, Moore did not correct the hosts when they described him as a Bronze Star recipient.
The New York Times also spoke with Doug Sterner, a military historian and Vietnam veteran, who helped to create the original version of the Stolen Valor Act, which criminalizes false claims about military accomplishments.
“Every veteran — I mean every veteran, even if they won’t admit it — has told a war story or embellished a little bit, but usually not about awards,” he said. “When you start embellishing about awards, then it becomes a problem.”
And former Rep. Joe Heck, a Nevada Republican and chief sponsor of the 2013 version of the Stolen Valor Act, told The New York Times, “It’s pretty clear when you’re a recipient of a particular award or decoration.”
“Not only do you have the physical award, but the paperwork associated with it. There’s no misunderstanding. You either did receive it or you didn’t,” he said.
On Thursday, the Trump administration’s Defense Department issued a statement, saying, “Wes Moore is a perfect example of a politician who inflates his resume in hopes no one notices.”
When asked by Fox News host Will Cain to respond, Moore said, “I’m very proud of my service, and I’m thankful that the United States military has recognized my service in Afghanistan with both a Bronze Star and a Combat Action Badge.”
???? HOLY CRAP! Fox’s Will Cain just CONFRONTED Maryland Gov. Wes Moore for his Bronze Star “mistake”
“Hold on a second! It’s NOT ridiculous, it’s important to know you are telling the truth! You got the Bronze Star 2 years ago…but you claimed it in 2006!”
“The Pentagon has… pic.twitter.com/qz5fs0JO7B
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) August 28, 2025
The Washington Post and the Associated Press reported last December that during the final weeks of the Biden administration, the Pentagon awarded Moore the Bronze Star.
“Moore’s close friend and former commander, Lt. Gen. Michael R. Fenzel, who had recommended Moore for the medal, on Friday pinned the Bronze Star for ‘meritorious service’ onto the governor’s chest during an emotional private ceremony at the governor’s mansion in Annapolis,” The Washington Post said.
The act gives Moore cover, so he can now claim it was just an administrative mistake.
What isn’t a mistake is that the Maryland governor lied for 18 years about it.
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