Only Black Governor in the U.S. Claims Racial Bias in Exclusion from Trump’s Dinner
Maryland's Governor Wes Moore, the only Black governor currently serving in the United States, has been left off the guest list for an upcoming bipartisan dinner at the White House, a move he suspects may be racially motivated.
“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 stated, expressing his disappointment.
He elaborated, “As the nation’s only Black governor, I can’t ignore that being singled out for exclusion from this bipartisan tradition carries an added weight — whether that was the intent or not.” His remarks reflect a sentiment of “blatant disrespect and a snub to the spirit of bipartisan federal-state partnership.”
The White House has countered this interpretation. A spokesperson remarked, “Many Democrats were invited to dinner at the White House, and others were not. These are White House events and the President reserves the right to invite whomever he wants.”
Interestingly, Colorado's Democratic Governor Jared Polis also found himself excluded from the black-tie affair.
President Trump previously declared that this month’s annual governors' meeting at the White House would exclusively feature Republican attendees. However, plans for a bipartisan dinner with governors and their spouses are still in motion during the National Governors Association gathering set to commence on February 19.
The NGA clarified that it would not endorse either the meeting or the dinner as official NGA events. “The president has decided to only invite Republican governors,” an NGA email obtained by The New York Times stated. “N.G.A. leadership has decided that this will not be an N.G.A. event, and no N.G.A. resources will be used to support transportation for this activity.”
Moore reiterated his stance on CNN’s State of the Union, stating, “The NGA will not support this dinner. If the president wants to have a dinner with his friends and have a black-tie dinner with his friends on that night, that is perfectly fine. It will not be an NGA event.”
This controversy unfolds against a backdrop of heightened scrutiny regarding Trump’s social media activity, particularly after a video was shared depicting former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama in a derogatory manner, invoking long-standing racist stereotypes. Trump has faced backlash for this incident, which he attributed to a staff error.
Senator Tim Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, condemned the video as “the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House,” calling for its removal.
Moore and Trump have had their share of disagreements in the past. The Maryland governor previously challenged Trump’s threats to deploy the National Guard to Baltimore to address crime, which led Trump to threaten funding cuts for infrastructure projects in Maryland.
Last year’s governors' meeting featured a notable exchange between Trump and Maine Governor Janet Mills over his executive order aimed at banning transgender women and girls from participating in women’s sports, highlighting ongoing tensions surrounding federal-state relations.
