Although Polymarket currently has California Gov. Gavin Newsom ranked as the most likely choice to be the Democrats' 2028 presidential nominee, there's been some talk about Maryland Gov. Wes Moore perhaps being a contender.
The Washington Free Beacon did some digging around to find Moore's PhD thesis and couldn't find a trace of it.
Well done @FreeBeacon. EXCLUSIVE: Wes Moore Won a Key White House Post Claiming He Was 'a Foremost Expert' on Radical Islam and Was Studying for an Oxford PhD—But His Thesis Is 'Missing' and There's No Evidence He Was Ever a Doctoral Student https://t.co/3Ia2EVYECG
— Miranda Devine (@mirandadevine) December 11, 2025
Credit to Andrew Kerr for doing some actual journalism:
NEW: In early Nov, I asked Maryland Gov. Wes Moore for a copy of his Oxford thesis, which he once claimed made him a "foremost expert" on radical Islam.
— Andrew Kerr (@AndrewKerrNC) December 11, 2025
Moore couldn't produce it.
And now, he's preemptively accusing me of spreading a "conspiracy" for reporting why it's missing. pic.twitter.com/992CXofAuz
Wes Moore lied about when he finished his Oxford studies. He said he graduated by June 2004 -- he actually finished his studies in November 2005
— Andrew Kerr (@AndrewKerrNC) December 11, 2025
Wes Moore lied about the title of his graduate thesis. He changed the title sometime after he graduated, a convenient change that…
The post continues:
… made it seem more relevant to the prestigious White House job he sought in 2006.
Wes Moore can't find his thesis (the same document he claimed made him recognized as a "foremost expert" on radical Islam)
Wes Moore never submitted his thesis to the Oxford Bodleian Library. I confirmed this with Oxford's deputy comms chief. Moore says I'm spreading a "conspiracy" by reporting this fact.
Wes Moore lied about being a "foremost expert" in radical Islam. Actual experts say they've never heard of him before.
Wes Moore completed his Oxford studies but he doesn't have a formal certificate because he has never walked at a graduation ceremony.
Moore will have a hard time walking in any future ceremony. In order to do so, he is first required to submit his thesis (which he can't find) to Oxford's Bodleian Library.
Kerr reports:
Maryland governor Wes Moore, now considered a serious prospect for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, got his big break in 2006. Fresh off a one-year deployment to Afghanistan, President George W. Bush awarded Moore, then 27, a White House fellowship, a prestigious, year-long internship during which he served as a special assistant to then-secretary of state Condoleezza Rice. It put Moore on the path to ultimately becoming Maryland's governor, and he won the fellowship—in the turbulent years after 9/11—claiming to be a "foremost expert" on radical Islam thanks to his academic work at Oxford University.
"As a Rhodes Scholar, I took advantage of the opportunity and examined radical Islam in the Western Hemisphere," Moore wrote in his application to serve as a White House fellow, indicating that he had graduated from Oxford in 2003 with a Master of Letters, or MLitt, in international relations. "I completed my degree with honors and my research has led me to be touted as one of the foremost experts on the threat." The White House parroted the claim in a press release announcing the 2006 fellowship class, borrowing from Moore's application to note that his Oxford thesis, which it said was titled The Rise and Ramifications of Radical Islam in the Western Hemisphere, had "earned him praise as one of the foremost experts on the topic."
Don’t ya hate it when real journalists do some work? It really messes stuff up.
— Mark Gehri (@mjdgehri) December 11, 2025
No disrespect but a Democrat lying isn't going to generate that many clicks, it's no different than an article saying the sun rose this morning; it's true but, ya know.
— Hunter DeButts (@BillySullivan7) December 11, 2025
Guys who make up military honors will make up anything.
— Highlander1 (@MacleodFlorida) December 11, 2025
And if he had produced it, it would’ve been plagiarized.
— Useless Tree (@_Useless_Tree_) December 11, 2025
Here I thought he was a reasonable Democrat but no, just a regular lying Democrat.
— Another Regular Dog (@Pupontheright) December 11, 2025
Not surprising from Governor Stolen Valor. Anyone low enough to lie about receiving a Bronze Star will lie about anything. He is pathetic.
— Sean Hickey (@seanehickey) December 11, 2025
Maybe his thesis will turn up in a dusty desk drawer somewhere.
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