Moore praises Trump Accounts: ‘This is actually a smart policy’

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) said the Trump administration’s new investment accounts for children is “smart” policy.

“I will give this administration credit for this. … We’ve had Democratic presidents, the Republican presidents, who have not been able to get this done, and it actually got done,” Moore said on an episode of “The Clay Cane Show” published Tuesday.

“This is actually a smart policy,” added the Maryland governor, a frequent critic of President Trump.

The “Trump Accounts” launched on July 4, with any U.S. child with a Social Security number who is under the age of 18 qualifying. The president marked the launch of the accounts on Monday by ringing the opening bells of the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq.

“The parents can’t even believe it’s happening,” Trump said. “It’s an amazing thing.”

As of Thursday, more than 6 million families had signed up to create an account for their child, according to the Treasury. The accounts, created under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act the president signed into law last July, can receive up to $5,000 annually from family members, friends and other adults, a limit that will increase with inflation starting in 2028.

For the accounts of children born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028, the Treasury Department is offering a deposit of $1,000. More than 50 companies have also committed to contributing to the accounts of their employees’ children, the Treasury noted on Saturday.

Moore on Tuesday compared the accounts to baby bonds, which economists Darrick Hamilton and William Darity first proposed in 2010 to address the racial wealth gap. Under their proposal, the government would make an initial deposit into an interest-bearing account for each newborn baby in the U.S., before making additional deposits throughout childhood.

The government would deposit the most money into the accounts of children from the lowest-wealth households. Once children turn 18, they would be able to use their funds to invest in wealth-generating assets, such as a home, post-secondary education or a small business startup, according to a December report from the Brookings Institution.

“One of the fastest ways that you can address both the… child poverty [issue] and the racial wealth gap is actually baby bonds,” Moore said Tuesday. “By giving children a chance to be able to have something that can grow and grow in maturity, that can then give them an opportunity to have a measure of economic mobility — and sustainable economic mobility.”

The report from the Brookings Institution, though, noted baby bonds “directly address wealth inequality,” unlike Trump Accounts.

In December, Michael and Susan Dell pledged $6.25 billion to the accounts of up to 25 million children ages 10 and under living in qualifying zip codes — amounting to $250 per child. Children must have been born before Jan. 1, 2025, to receive the money.

Ultimately, Moore has only one problem with the accounts: Trump’s name being attached to them.

“I hate the fact that he called it a Trump Accounts,” he said with a laugh. “I mean… why he put his name on this thing is so unbelievably frustrating, and [he] has put his name on everything. But that’s just who the man is, and that’s who he’s been his whole life.”