President Donald Trump plans to keep Democrats out of a traditionally bipartisan White House gathering of governors typically held as part of the National Governors Association’s annual Washington summit, the organization said.
According to the governors’ offices, the president also revoked invitations sent to Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D), the NGA’s vice chair; and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) to attend a second White House event scheduled to occur around the summit: a dinner for governors.
“This week, I learned that I was uninvited to this year’s National Governors Association dinner — a decades-long annual tradition meant to bring governors from both parties together to build bonds and celebrate a shared service to our citizens with the President of the United States,” Moore said in a statement Sunday. “… It’s hard not to see this decision as another example of blatant disrespect and a snub to the spirit of bipartisan federal-state partnership.”
Moore told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that he was confused by the White House’s decision, saying that, just a few weeks ago, he led a bipartisan group of governors who met with the president as Trump signed a memorandum on bringing down energy costs.
Moore also said on CNN that it was “not lost” on him that he is the only Black governor of a state.
“I find that to be particularly painful, considering the fact that the president is trying to exclude me from an organization that not only my peers have asked me to help to lead, but then also a place where I know I belong in,” he said. “I’m never in a room because of someone’s benevolence nor kindness. I’m not in a room because of a social experiment. I’m in the room because I belong there and the room was incomplete until I got there.”
Eric Maruyama, a spokesperson for Polis, said the decision to exclude the Colorado governor was “disappointing.”
“Gov. Polis has always been willing to work with anyone across the political spectrum who wants to help work on the hardest problems facing Colorado and America, regardless of party or who occupies the White House,” Maruyama said in a statement.
Spokespeople for the Democratic Governors Association did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
While Moore and Polis were excluded from the dinner with Trump, some Democrats remained invited to the gathering.
The White House did not explain why Democratic governors were not invited to the meeting with Trump, and a spokesperson did not respond to a request to provide a list of Democrats who were invited to the dinner.
Trump has frequently clashed with Moore and Polis, and his decision comes after months of conflict between the federal government and Democratic governors.
Moore has condemned the president’s threat to deploy the National Guard to Baltimore and defund the Maryland’s efforts to replace the fallen Key Bridge. Trump has also repeatedly claimed that Baltimore is “crime ridden” despite the fact that the city is experiencing its lowest homicide rate in 50 years.
Polis and Trump have repeatedly feuded over Tina Peters, a former county clerk in Colorado who was convicted in state court on felony charges related to efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Polis has defended the conviction and refused the White House’s request to transfer Peters to a federal prison. Because of this, in December, Trump in a Truth Social post called Polis a “scumbag” and said he should “rot in Hell.”
The NGA’s Washington meetings are expected to take place Feb. 19 to 21. The organization said Friday that the White House meeting will no longer be part of the association’s official schedule.
In a statement Friday, Brandon Tatum, the interim CEO of the NGA, said that the “bipartisan White House governors meeting is an important tradition, and we are disappointed in the administration’s decision to make it a partisan occasion this year.”
“To disinvite individual governors to the White House sessions undermines an important opportunity for federal-state collaboration,” Tatum said. “At this moment in our nation’s history, it is critical that institutions continue to stand for unity, dignity and constructive engagement.”
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