BALTIMORE — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore recently signed the largest budget in state history, which includes more than a dozen new taxes and fees. But he continues to tout a tax cut for the middle class.

The Democratic governor’s Republican critics have quickly pounced on what they see as gaslighting. Senate Minority Whip Justin Ready, who represents Carroll and Frederick counties, describes the budget as “the largest tax increase in Maryland history.”

Moore spent winter on defense, consistently facing questions about a $5.5 billion surplus that turned into a $3.3 billion deficit. He’s kicking off spring on offense, telling the story of how he turned a deficit into a surplus. And this week, he’s doing it from Asia, where he will likely secure some deals to boost his economic agenda.

“It’s good for him,” said Flavio Hickel, an associate professor of political science at Washington College on the Eastern Shore. “It gets him out of Maryland and the domestic sniping and establishes his international credibility.”

Hickel sees it as a proactive trip to “shift attention” and “return with good news and new investments.”

The day Moore flew to Tokyo last week, he shared a video statement on X about how 94% of Marylanders will either get a tax cut or see no change in their income taxes. The key words there are “income taxes.” Most Marylanders will pay about $50 less in income taxes, but Republicans say those savings will be offset by increases in emissions fees, a tire tax, technology services and more.

“Some folks will pay less in income tax, but if they drive or use computer services, they will pay more,” Ready said.

Republicans say Moore’s recent statements show he’s forgotten what he said at the beginning of the legislative session in January.

The governor has frequently blamed the previous administration for increasing budget spending by 70% while economic growth stalled, pointing fingers at former Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican.

“We were spending, but we weren’t growing,” Moore said on Jan. 15. The governor has said economic growth is his North Star.

His critics say he ought to also lay some of the blame on Democrats, who have had majority control of the legislature and used their power to override Hogan’s veto on the state’s multibillion-dollar education plan, the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future.

“Both [Moore] and the legislature deserve equal blame” for tax increases during this legislative session, according to Del. Matt Morgan, a Republican representing St. Mary’s County. “But the legislature is to the left of the governor.”

Morgan and Ready say the governor didn’t use his power enough to rein in his party.

“The governor represents a third of the government. He has the bully pulpit and a lot of budgetary control,” Morgan said.

But instead of using that power, he was silent too long on some of the most controversial issues, the Republican lawmakers said.

“The governor was very absent during the second half of the session,” Ready said. “When things got tough, he checked out.”

Moore, in an hourlong editorial board meeting with The Baltimore Sun last week, seemed to reject the idea of reining in his party.

“I don’t know what keeping this whole party in line means,” the governor said. “Maybe I’m not, like, a partisan dude.”

Moore said he’s focused on whether an idea makes sense. He said he’ll embrace a good idea and reject a bad one regardless of which party is introducing it.

“And, so, when we heard ideas coming from certain members of the General Assembly saying they want to do a (business-to-business tax), I came out and said, ‘Yeah, we’re not doing that,'” Moore said. “And when I heard from other members of the General Assembly that we’re going to kick kids off Medicaid, I’m like, ‘Yeah, we’re not doing that.'”

But Moore laid some blame with the legislature on the last day of the session, saying the General Assembly didn’t pass some of the governor’s bills that addressed housing, nuclear energy and making Maryland a more attractive destination for businesses.

For Morgan, that pushback came a little too late.

“I like the governor. He’s a young, charismatic guy with a bright future ahead,” Morgan said. “But I would like to see more leadership from him in putting Marylanders first.”

In some ways, the current economic battle is not so much a framing or reframing of the recent legislative session as it is about whether the Moore or Hogan administrations were better at putting Marylanders first.

Hogan’s allies have incessantly hammered a message that the former governor left a $5.5 billion surplus, and Democrats went on a spending spree, creating a $3.3 billion deficit. Moore and his allies say that federal COVID funds papered over a structural deficit that experts warned about since 2017, leading to the state’s worst fiscal crisis in at least two decades.

When Moore was sworn into office on Jan. 18, 2023, he described the state’s financial position as “fortunate.” He also warned that Maryland must be “clear-eyed” about the challenges ahead.

But despite seeing the challenges ahead, Moore “didn’t take the bull by the horns,” according to David Brinkley, who served as Hogan’s budget secretary.

Brinkley said Moore has shown “incredible naivete” in managing a multibillion-dollar operation. The governor compounds that problem by playing the blame game, the former budget secretary said.

“You’re the executive now. You own the decisions and impact,” Brinkley said.

He added that everyone makes mistakes, but good leaders make decisions and own them.

“Moore is learning a tough lesson that the legislature has 188 members, and few of them have created private-sector jobs,” Brinkley said.

He predicts some of the state’s new taxes and fees may push some businesses and job creators “south of the Potomac,” referring to the river that separates Maryland and Virginia.

Many Republicans in the legislature fell in love with Virginia during this session — if they weren’t already. They especially enjoyed that state’s lieutenant governor and her campaign slogan: “Don’t Maryland my Virginia.”

“Virginia is thriving, spending money on education and programs that work,” Morgan said. “They’re kicking our butt economically in a state that’s comparable to ours.”

Maryland is getting its butt kicked in part because it’s not addressing its long-term problem of the legislature spending too much money, said Ready, who described his home state’s economy as “stagnant.”

While Republicans hope voters will hold the Democrats in power accountable in the next election, they said they’re in touch with reality in their reliably blue state.

“Will it cost Moore his reelection in 2026? I doubt it,” Brinkley said. “So many voters are blind to the long-term impacts of government decisions. But his decisions in Maryland could hurt him if he tries to court voters in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and the Carolinas.”

Brinkley was referring to the presidential race in 2028. Moore recently told The Sun’s editorial board that he is not running for president in 2028, but he continues to raise his national profile and be named among Democrats who could lead the party out of the political doldrums.

On Thursday, columnist and podcast host Ezra Klein used Moore, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and California Gov. Gavin Newsom as examples of leaders who showed effectiveness in what’s possible when bureaucracy doesn’t get in the way. All three have faced catastrophes in their states and resolved them quickly with emergency orders that helped to cut through red tape. All three are on lists of potential Democratic presidential candidates.

“Moore is one of the 2028 candidates people are talking about and getting excited about,” Hickel said. “His trip to Asia helps people see him as more than just a governor. He’s establishing international credibility, which is usually a weakness for governors.”

International trips also attract a lot of media attention. (The Sun has sent reporter Sam Janesch to cover Moore in Japan and South Korea.) It’s a chance to show the world how governors conduct themselves on a big stage, often meeting with troops and visiting global businesses. That spotlight can be used to share a message, Hickel said.

Moore is using the opportunity to share his message on Maryland’s economy.

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