
Maryland Governor Wes Moore has overseen one of the steepest homicide drops in America. Baltimore, long plagued by 300-plus murders a year, has seen killings fall more than 40 percent since 2023. In this archived conversation, Moore explains how a...
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Mike Pesca
It's Saturday. It's the Saturday Show. We have one from the Vault and one from the week for you. From the week I did a spiel about Laura Loomer. Really? About the coverage of Laura Loomer. So many spiels I do turn into press criticism, but it is a public service. Let's say you didn't read all those stories about Laura Loomer. You could just listen to my spiel. You could read it on my substack. That'd be substack.mikepeska.com so you know all I'm trying to do is serve the public, as is Wes Moore, who is the governor of Maryland. He was in the news this week when Donald Trump said that Moore whispered to him, you're the greatest president of my lifetime. Moore did not say that. To get a sense of what Moore said, I'll bring you more. More from our conversation of almost exactly a year ago and it is on the subject of murder, which Baltimore, the biggest city in his state, has seen a lot of, but has also seen an historic drop and that is relevant to so many stories in the news. I talked a lot about the Washington, D.C. decline in murder rates being, yes, decline from last year or the year before, but still incredibly high. Baltimore is doing a lot better than Washington, so they were at an even higher murder rate per capita. But you have to give them credit. And here's what the latest trends show. Baltimore has seen an historic drop in homicides, a 22% decrease this year, compared it to last last year and you'll hear this in my interview with Moore, was also a pretty good year. I mean Baltimore, which used to have 300, 400 murders a year, might finish the year with 143. So I'll talk about that and you'll get a sense of Governor Wes Moore. Up next, Foreign let's map out this week's amazing destinations and travel tips.
Will (Co-host or Guest)
Honestly, Will, I didn't plan any trips, but I did switch to T Mobile with their new Family Freedom offer.
Mike Pesca
That's not the itinerary we're following.
Will (Co-host or Guest)
Well, I'm departing from AT&T and embarking on a new journey with T Mobile. They paid off my family's four phones up to $3200 and gave us four new phones on the house.
Mike Pesca
Bon voyage.
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Mike Pesca
In my 2024 talk with Governor Wes Moore of Maryland, I noted that he is not an advocate for striking down the second Amendment. He served our country and carried firearms. He knows firearms. But he also knows that Baltimore's reputation is sadly deserved as one of the most crime ridden cities in the United States. So as of the conversation that you're about to hear, I started by citing the latest homicide stat which as you know, I think are as an odd phrase, but the gold standard in that they're not usually faked and they're quite indicative of crime and safety of a city. So in our September 2024 interview it was the case that Baltimore had seen 135 homicides and that compared to 334 the year prior. 2023, a deadly year for many American most American cities this was from 23 to 24, a drop of 40%. And you heard the statistics I read at the top of today's show. I noted for Governor Moore that if the trend holds, Baltimore's homicide rate, however would still be about 30 per 10000 as compared to New York City's 6 per 10000. Question what has Baltimore Done differently to bring murders down and can it last?
Governor Wes Moore
Yeah, I mean, and I love this, Mike, because, you know, when I first came on board as governor, we had seen how Baltimore had 300 plus homicides for eight straight years. Literally for the entire duration of my predecessor's time as governor, Baltimore was killing Fields. And I came in and I said, I refuse to be a governor who is just going to attend funerals and give thoughts and prayers without doing a single thing to be able to address this issue. And so when we came on board, I said, we're going to take an all of the above approach. We're going to make record investments in law enforcement and actually local law enforcement and making sure we're getting more boots on ground. We're going to make record investments in technology and predictive analytics and showing that you can actually close cases when they, when these things happen that we're going to invest in not just our state's attorneys, but also Maryland's now in the only states that actually takes balance sheet to invest in the U.S. attorney because we've moved a lot of these cases. When it comes to guns and gun trafficking and violence, you move them into federal cases because those sentences are longer. And we've also made investments in violence reduction platforms and in community groups. And the results to your point have been staggering. Where in our first 19 months, we've now seen, not only has Baltimore had amongst the most precipitous drops of homicides of anywhere in America, and the state of Maryland has had some of the fastest drops of anywhere in the state in this country, but also the last time the homicide rate was this low in Baltimore at this time of the year, I wasn't born yet. That's the kind of drops that we've seen. And so I'm proud of the work that we've been able to do together. I'm proud of the fact that we've been able to really take this all of the above approach and work with local jurisdictions and our federal partners to be able to reduce gun violence, reduce violent crime, reduce the homicide rate, and make our community safer. We still have more work to do, but. But the answer of, you know, can we keep this going? My answer is absolutely, and I'm committed to it.
Mike Pesca
Is it important to take the all of the above approach just because, hey, with a horrible problem, let's throw solutions at the wall? Or is it more the case that there are certain interventions that you could probably prove work much better than others? I read a lot of criminology, more police does Correlate to lower crime costs, literal and figur effectively notwithstanding, that is true. Violence Interrupters, for instance, which is, which are some programs you've used less effective, but when you go to the community, you can sell them on. Yes, we are putting more police in the street, but we also have this raft, these other programs. So we're not giving up on anything. So that's my question. Is it more of a communication technique to have the all of the above approach than anything else?
Governor Wes Moore
Well, you know, I think what it is and I think what people have seen from us here in Maryland is, you know, I say as a leader, I am data driven and heart led, where I wear my heart on my sleeve. And I acknowledge that. But I don't move without data. If you ever want to get me to move on anything, you must show me data that it actually works. In fact, the organization that I ran before I ran for governor was one of the largest poverty fighting organizations in this country. But it was also an organization that prided itself on data driven decisions. And we could give you the societal ROI on every single dollar that we invested. We take the same approach in the state of Maryland. And so the reason to your point that we invested more in local law enforcement wasn't because it sounded good or because of a political ideology. It's because the data continue to show that if you have jurisdictions where you have massive, massive vacancies when it comes to local law enforcement, then you are going to have a problem being able to actually not just counter crime, but close cases. They're the reason that we said we're going to invest in technology and predictive analytics was because the data showed that there were certain technologies that were very useful when it came to making sure that people were captured. And if a person knew that I was going to be involved in a violent crime, if I was going to be involved in drug trafficking, and I knew that my face was going to be on camera, if I knew that within 24 hours I would be captured. People thought about that when it came to how they were thinking about living their lives. And so the reason that I think these things have worked and the reason we've invested in them is, is because these are data driven decisions, which I think really has to be the way you frame out everything that you do when it comes to governance.
Mike Pesca
Yup. When it comes to crime reduction, swift, certain and fair. That's what the experts say has to happen. They also predict once you start closing more cases, which is to say solving cases and, and pairing a murderer With a murder, there's supposed to be a flywheel effect that you'll get more credibility, that more people will come to the. Are you seeing that? Will you at least commit to researching that? Because it seems like Baltimore is doing a natural experiment here.
Governor Wes Moore
We are. And in fact, we already have. In fact, in our, in our last year, our last legislative session, you know, I've introduced 26 pieces of legislation. We've gone 26 for 26. And by the way, we've gone 26 for 26. Bipartisan, with both Democrat and Republican support on every bill we've introduced. One of the bills we introduced was something called. Something called the Victims Compensation Act. What the Victims Compensation act basically says is that if a person is a victim of crime, the best person to actually help to solve that case is the victim. But the problem is in many cases, they don't cooperate. They're scared to. They don't feel like they're going to be protected. They don't feel like it's going to help to bring closure to the case. And so by being able to better support victims of crimes, you actually do a better job of helping to close cases. When you close cases, people know that they're not going to get away with crime. And so you're absolutely right. This becomes a cycle that as this continues to come out and people understand that we're not playing that the behavior begins to change. It's part of the reason that we've been able to work with our U.S. attorney and turn more of these cases into federal cases. Because if you get a federal. You get 15 years or 20 years on federal. You're doing 15 or 20 years. You're not doing five on good behavior. And you know who we've noticed, who pays attention to that? The people who are committing these kinds of crimes. And so you're right.
Mike Pesca
There.
Governor Wes Moore
There isn't. There is a. There is a, you know, almost this idea that, you know, winners win. There's also this idea of if you can get the trend lines moving in the right direction, it's actually going to influence behavior, which will further increase the chances of these trend lines. Continue.
Mike Pesca
Let's map out this week's amazing destinations and travel tips.
Will (Co-host or Guest)
Honestly, Will, I didn't plan any trips, but I did switch to T Mobile with their new family freedom offer.
Mike Pesca
That's not the itinerary we're following.
Will (Co-host or Guest)
Well, I'm departing from AT&T and embarking on a new journey with T Mobile. They paid off my family's four phones up to $3200 and gave us four new phones on the house.
Mike Pesca
Bon Voyage.
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Up to $800 per line via virtual prepaid card typically takes 15 days. Free phones via 24 monthly bill credits with finance agreement eg Apple iPhone 16128 gigabyte $829.99 eligible trade in eg iPhone 11 Pro for credits end and balance due if you pay off early or cancel contact T Mobile Ever notice how.
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Mike Pesca
And now the Spiel if you haven't steeped yourself in Laura Loomer's life story before the recent spate of takeout pieces in America's leading publications, the first impression you likely carried into things was that Laura Loomer was a Trump sycophant who was a little bit nutty. But now, after so many reports are out, you could at least be disabused of the modifier little. In the New York Times, Ken Bensinger reconstructs Loomer's trajectory. He also did a full episode of the daily podcast on this Here in a crowded restaurant, she talks about President Trump's reaction to her work. He's just staring at me.
Will (Co-host or Guest)
You really know what you're talking about.
Mike Pesca
Lumer grew up in a single parent household where one brother descended into schizophrenia and threatened life of his siblings. Loomer was shipped off to an Arizona boarding school, where she first displayed the radical anti Islamic tendencies that would become her brand. The Atlantic contribution to the Uevra was written by Michael Shearer. It pivots towards her side hustle. She has a consulting business, though I gotta say, calling her main hustle a hustle is a little bit of an insult to hustles. Her main hustle is better described as paranoid vendettas that fuel autocrats. The Free Press's Gabe Kameninsky updated Loomer's looming lunacy by noting that her influence, even at its height, always erratic, is waning within the White House. They're sick of her the Free Press headlined its piece White House Officials have had it with Laura Loomer. This was apparently news to Newsweek, which five days after the Free Press piece ran, had its own profile headlined Laura Loomer's Influence is Growing. I don't know. The Newsweek piece didn't have much original reporting at all. It did have a quote from Heath Brown, an associate professor of public policy at the City University of New York, quote, it's hard to think of someone in recent history that seems to have such influence over key presidential decisions that doesn't hold an official position in the White House or federal government. I don't know. I can think of a ton depending how far back you want to go. And not to fdr. How about Arthur Laffer, Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani, Tucker Carlson? Let's go to the Biden administration, Ted Kaufman, John Meacham, and think about Obama. Just because Oprah wasn't tweeting about firing the Customs and Border Protection official doesn't mean Oprah wasn't influential. But what sets Loomer apart is that the other hangers on or advisers or kitchen cabinet whisperers weren't full on crazy ants in the cupboard. Loomer is that and more, and also a whole lot less. Well, you might have missed if you already knew the broad contours of a figure who took opposition research straight to the president and, though with diminishing returns, still occasionally manages to get members of the executive branch fired. So here's a little bit of the irony. Loomer is such a singular creature that even these would be definitive magazine profiles going long on the extremist template still have to leave out marquee episodes of Loomer being bananas. The Times, for instance, in thousands of words and a whole daily episode, didn't even note that Loomer gained notoriety originally by bursting onto a Shakespeare in the park production to protest a Trump as Julius Caesar depiction. The Atlantic omitted her stunt chaining herself to Twitter headquarters, and even when the Times mentioned chaining herself to Twitter headquarters, it skipped the comic opera detail that she botched the protest. She affixed her wrist to a single door handle, leaving staff and visitors free to bypass her simply by using the other door. Pausing only to ogle the strange woman with signs about antisemitism who eventually had to beg the police to cut her free. All right, let's say you don't want to burn your sanity, but you want some bullet points. Here's some fun facts about Loomer High school resume manager of both the football and Rodeo teams. She's banned on the apps. No, not just social media apps. Uber and Lyft. She declared she didn't want to ride with a Muslim driver. So even if she wasn't banned, if they just did good customer service. I don't think she was getting many rides. Dog food ate it on air. We have a clip of that.
Will (Co-host or Guest)
It's clearly says dog food topper.
Mike Pesca
And I'm going to put this in.
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My mouth right now.
Will (Co-host or Guest)
So it tastes like meat.
Mike Pesca
And maybe that is disgusting to you. The Times has her going to meet with Donald Trump at the Kennedy center only to be blocked during a production of Les Mis. She couldn't get to the president. At the end of the day, she was denied. She was also denied a Florida concealed carry permit. The Times doesn't say why, but it could be, at least according to Grok, because she's been involuntarily committed a couple times. I don't want to spread that rumor, but you know Loomers on Twitter. Grok's the official AI of Twitter. That's what Grok says. Even Republicans recoil. Here's a quote. Even many Republicans, Ms. Loomer approach, like Representative Andy Ogles of Tennessee, regarded her tentatively, as if she just might bite. Andy Ogles. Andy Ogles introduced the constitutional amendment to let Trump serve a third term. He filed articles of impeachment against judges who ruled against Trump. When Andy Ogles thinks you're the loose cannon, well, artillery, latch thine self here. Let's get into the Marjorie Taylor Greene stuff. She publicly claimed Marjorie Taylor Greene quote, gave blowjobs in the back rooms of CrossFit gyms. Adding on Twitter, how do you call yourself a Christian when you're wearing a cross while getting bent over backwards inside the gym by every man who isn't your husband? I would just like to note. I don't think she means bent over backwards. I think she means just bent over. Just a note. Just a note. Take my note, Laura. And here's another great one. I love this one. She claimed that Green had Arby's in her pants. If you're saying, what is that? It's a reference to Green's genitalia being unsightly, shall we say? She was asked about this in a deposition where she's suing Bill Maher, the comedian. So the lawyers wanted to establish. Well, you say some outrageous things yourself. I will now read from the deposition here. Bear with me. This is a good one. Lawyer, can you explain to me what it means to say that the Arby's Is in her pants. Answer. Well, Arby's. Mr. Clayman, that's. That's Loomer's lawyer. Objection. Relevancy. Question. Answer the question. Answer. RB Sells roast beef. Question. Right. Can you tell me what. Why were you talking about Arby's in her pants? Well, it's just an expression. What is the expression trying to convey? It conveys the reason why she got a divorce by her own admission. Because she has roast beef in her pants. Yes. She put roast beef in her pants. That's what you're trying to say here. You're literally saying she put Arby's in her pants. I'm saying she literally. It's so ridiculous. I'm saying she literally put Arby's in her pants. Question. So what is your basis for saying she had Arby's in her pants? Answer. Because I know she likes to eat Arby's and she likes to put it in her pants. Answer. Yeah, she puts Arby's in her pants. Answer. Yeah, does. Okay. If I asked Marjorie Taylor Greene, she would tell me she puts Arby's in her pants. Answer. It's my best belief that she would tell you that. That. Thanks for bearing with me. My stance on Laura Loomer has long been to treat her as a dangerous joke. I don't want to supply her more oxygen than necessary. She's very good at oxygen. The reason that all these magazines did profiles of her is you can't ignore her. And she said yes. And she tweeted out at least a couple of them. I don't think the Free Press one, certainly the Atlantic one. I think the same way. A little bit about Alligator Alcatraz. It's the White House's intention to shock. And how can you not be shocked? It and Loomer. Horrible things. The Trump initiative is so brazenly awful. You got to say something. But they're depending on people like me and you and normal people saying something. Here's another example. The ludicrous spectacle of dispatching detainees to Escatini. It's just an obscure choice that makes no sense except for reasonable, normal people to say that makes no sense. So I do think that giving this scattershot lunatic a hearing, it may feel unavoidable. And I really don't criticize any of the articles I read about her. But let's also note, it fulfills precisely the desire of the architects of this lunacy. Trump himself has likened Loomer to Roy Cohen. Loomer in the Free Press gleefully accepted the comparison to Joseph McCarthy. But McCarthy was an elected U.S. senator and a war, if not hero, a tail gunner. Cohen was an accomplished lawyer, very, very smart, a staffer of House committees, an operator of unparalleled influence. By definition, they had more heft, more consequence than Laura Loomer, where they should. Because maybe the new Roy Cohen isn't someone with gravity and credentials. Maybe the model has shifted. Maybe the real analog to McCarthy or Cohen in our era is not a Senate operator or courtroom tactician, but a dog food eater who doesn't even know the right door to chain herself to. It could be. And as with almost everything that Laura Loomer says, even under oath, anything could be and that's it for the Saturday show. Cory Wara produced it. We'll talk to you after the holiday on Tuesday.
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Host: Mike Pesca (Peach Fish Productions)
Date: August 30, 2025
This episode of The Gist features two primary segments:
Mike Pesca delivers his signature mix of evidence-driven critique, incisive questions, and sardonic humor.
Baltimore has seen a dramatic decline in its homicide rate, the largest in decades. Mike Pesca explores with Governor Wes Moore what has contributed to this public safety success, how different interventions play a role, and whether this positive trend can be sustained.
Historic Context & Record Drop in Murders
Multi-Faceted Approach (“All of the Above”)
Investments in local law enforcement (addressing police vacancies and funding).
Technology and predictive analytics (to improve case closure rates).
Support for state and federal prosecutors, shifting cases for harsher federal sentences.
Funding community violence reduction groups and platforms.
“I'm proud of the fact that we've been able to really take this all of the above approach and work with local jurisdictions and our federal partners to be able to reduce gun violence, reduce violent crime, reduce the homicide rate, and make our community safer.” — Gov. Wes Moore ([06:45])
Data-Driven, Heart-Led Leadership
Moore emphasizes using data as the “bedrock” for policy choices.
Policies are analyzed for real, demonstrable impact—not adopted solely for political value.
“I am data driven and heart led [...] If you ever want to get me to move on anything, you must show me data that it actually works.” — Gov. Wes Moore ([08:22])
Swift, Certain, and Fair Justice
Moving Violent Crimes to Federal Jurisdiction
On the Unprecedented Drop:
“The last time the homicide rate was this low in Baltimore at this time of the year, I wasn't born yet. That's the kind of drops that we've seen.” — Gov. Wes Moore ([06:40])
On Bipartisan Legislative Success:
“I've introduced 26 pieces of legislation. We've gone 26 for 26. Bipartisan, with both Democrat and Republican support on every bill we've introduced.” — Gov. Wes Moore ([10:31])
Pesca’s Synthesis of the Approach:
“When it comes to crime reduction, swift, certain and fair. That's what the experts say has to happen. They also predict once you start closing more cases... you’ll get more credibility, that more people will come to [help].” — Mike Pesca ([09:59])
Having been thrust back into the news cycle, Laura Loomer—right-wing provocateur and Trump-world figure—is profiled by major media. Pesca, with characteristic wit, sifts through these profiles to highlight her influence, outrageousness, and diminishing returns.
Media Saturation & Contradictory Narratives
Loomer’s Antics and Reputation
Loomer's Role in Trump World
Mockery of Her Attacks & Statements
Notorious vulgar insults against Marjorie Taylor Greene; deposition over “Arby’s in her pants” incident.
“If you're saying, what is that? It's a reference to Green's genitalia being unsightly, shall we say?” — Mike Pesca ([17:40])
Reading from Loomer’s deposition, Pesca satirizes the absurdity with deadpan delivery ([17:45–19:52]).
The Dilemma of Coverage
Pesca acknowledges the challenge: profiling Loomer risks fulfilling her attention-seeking aims, but her antics are too notable (and dangerous) to fully ignore.
Ultimate reflection: Loomer’s influence is an outgrowth of a system where outrageousness, not expertise, garners attention and a seat at the table.
On Loomer’s Self-Sabotaged Protest:
“She affixed her wrist to a single door handle, leaving staff and visitors free to bypass her simply by using the other door. Pausing only to ogle the strange woman... who eventually had to beg the police to cut her free.” — Mike Pesca ([16:30])
On Loomer as Roy Cohn/McCarthy: “Maybe the real analog to McCarthy or Cohen in our era is... a dog food eater who doesn't even know the right door to chain herself to. It could be.” — Mike Pesca ([22:50])
Mock-Resigned Humor:
“Thanks for bearing with me. My stance on Laura Loomer has long been to treat her as a dangerous joke. I don't want to supply her more oxygen than necessary. She's very good at oxygen.” — Mike Pesca ([20:50])
For listeners who missed the episode, this summary delivers the key themes, spirited quotations, and the thread of argument—with full context and the playful voice of The Gist intact.