Social media offers the unique opportunity for politicians and celebrities to respond to claims about them almost immediately.
While sometimes we might wish people wouldn’t share all of their thoughts online, Maryland Governor Wes Moore made good use of his X account to address a statement made by Donald Trump, doing so with a single word.
This followed Trump’s assertion that Moore had heaped praise on him during a ‘private’ conversation at the Army-Navy football game in Maryland in December 2024.
Trump claimed: “He came over to me, hugged me, shook my hand and said, ‘Sir, you’re the greatest president of my lifetime.’
“I said, ‘It’s really nice of you to say that, I’d love for you to say it publicly, but I don’t think you can do that so it’s OK.'”
“‘No sir, you’re doing a fantastic job, I wanted to just shake your hand.'”
In response, Moore simply posted “lol” on X (formerly Twitter) to refute the claim.
He continued with: “Keep telling yourself that, Mr. President,” and as reported by The Washington Post, later reaffirmed his denial on WBAL Radio.
Moore stated: “When I say that conversation never happened, that imaginary conversation never happened, I mean that conversation never happened.”
Fox News further complicated the situation by fact-checking Trump’s claim, broadcasting footage from the football game in question.
The footage, part of a documentary on Trump, showed the encounter with Moore.
It did not include the phrase ‘greatest president’, nor did it show Moore hugging Trump as described.
CNN reported the clip displayed Moore shaking Trump’s hand and saying, “Welcome back to Maryland, sir. Welcome back to Maryland. It’s good to see you.”
He also mentioned, “We are very, very anxious to be able to work closely with you.”
Moore discussed securing federal funding to repair a bridge, assuring it would be completed ‘on time, on budget.’
Trump replied with ‘We’ll help you out’, to which Moore responded ‘Thank you, sir.’
Carter Elliott, a spokesperson for Moore, informed CNN: “That was the only interaction at the game” and reiterated that Moore ‘certainly didn’t say’ Trump was the ‘greatest president’.
He noted the footage shown by Fox ‘captures the whole interaction aside from them taking a photo at the end, I believe.’
Awkward indeed.