The growing controversy has put Maryland governor Wes Moore under an unwelcome spotlight as he emerges as a potential contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination. The dispute centers on Moore’s conflicting claims regarding his thesis and Oxford education, a record that helped launch his career after President George W. Bush awarded him a White House fellowship in 2006.
In his fellowship application, Moore called himself a “foremost expert” on radical Islam, writing, “I completed my degree with honors and my research has led me to be touted as one of the foremost experts on the threat.” Yet documents, timelines, and testimony from Oxford officials now raise doubts about whether Moore ever submitted the thesis he claims to have written. Oxford’s deputy communications chief said she could find “any trace” of Moore’s paper because “he has not submitted his thesis to the Bodleian.”
The titles of the Moore thesis also contradict one another. His fellowship application lists it as The Rise and Ramifications of Radical Islam in the Western Hemisphere, while Oxford records describe it as Radical Islam in Latin America in the late 20th Century and its Middle Eastern Roots. Moore’s office could not produce a copy of the thesis, though spokesman Ammar Moussa insisted, “Wes Moore completed and submitted his thesis… full stop.”
Additional inconsistencies compound the scrutiny, including conflicting graduation dates, unverified claims of doctoral candidacy, and missing scholarly articles Moore said he authored. Even scholars in the field refute his supposed prominence. “I have never come across Gov. Moore’s name,” French political scientist Gilles Kepel said.
As Moore positions himself nationally, the unresolved questions surrounding the Moore thesis—and the credibility it granted him—show no signs of fading.
