President Trump said Wednesday that almost all governors are welcome to the White House for a formal meeting and dinner next week, although the Democratic governors of Maryland and Colorado are still excluded.
The White House was Going to boycott at first Democratic governors from a formal, typically bipartisan business meeting on Feb. 20 during the annual National Governors Association (NGA) conference, according to sources familiar with NGA and the White House’s plans.
And two Democratic governors, Wes Moore of Maryland and Jared Polis of Colorado, said they were informed by the NGA last Friday they would not be invited to a separate dinner with the president, governors and their spouses at the White House on February 21.
But after talks between the Republican White House and Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, who chairs the NGA, the organization and the president said Wednesday that governors from both parties were welcome to the meeting and dinner. Democratic governors began receiving invitations to business meetings Wednesday evening, although the NGA did not receive updates about the White House dinner.
Governor Stitt announced on Wednesday that he has invited all 55 state and territory governors to a formal meeting on February 20.
“He was clear in his conversations with me that this is a National Governors Association event, and he looks forward to hosting you and hearing from governors across the country. President Trump said that was always his intention, and we have addressed the misunderstanding on the schedule,” Stitt wrote in a message to governors obtained by CBS News.
After Stitt’s message was posted on Truth Social Post on Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Trump wrote that Moore and Polis were still excluded. He said that there was a misunderstanding between him and Stitt.
“Invitations were sent to all but two governors, who I don’t think deserve to be there,” Trump wrote, adding that he “also extended invitations” to two of his political foes, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. “Then, as usual with him, Stitt got it wrong! Invitations were sent to all the other governors, Democrats and Republicans.”
According to a source familiar with the matter, Moore received an invitation Wednesday for a formal meeting.
It is not clear whether the police were even invited to that meeting or not. “No matter what event Colorado is invited to, Governor Polis will continue to focus on working with his fellow governors and anyone else who wants to help make people’s lives better,” said a spokesman for the Colorado governor. CBS News reached out to the White House.
The NGA said it was notified by the White House on February 5 that only Republican governors would be invited to the formal business meeting. Because of these exclusions, the NGA said it would not facilitate that meeting the following day or place it on the group’s official schedule. Stitt reiterated that in a letter to governors Monday and defended Moore as “an exceptional vice president” for the NGA.
After reports that Democratic governors were excluded from the meeting, nearly every Democratic governor issued a joint statement Tuesday saying they would not attend any White House events, including the dinner, in solidarity with Moore and Polis.
In his Wednesday post, Mr. Trump cited former Colorado County Elections Clerk Tina Peters’ jailing disagreement as a reason for not inviting Polis. The president has pushed police for months to pardon Peters, who is serving a nine-year sentence In several state charges related to unauthorized access to voting machines.
And Mr Trump called Moore “foul-mouthed” and claimed he had received military medals, although Moore denied it was “honest mistake” in a 2006 White House Fellowship application Received the Bronze Star for his deployment to Afghanistan.
The president also criticized Stitt, calling him a “RINO,” or Republican in Name Only. Stitt endorsed Mr. Trump’s former opponent, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, in the 2024 Republican presidential primary.
Moore called the decision not to invite him “another example of blatant disrespect and an affront to the spirit of bipartisan federal-state partnership.” statement earlier this week.
A Polis spokeswoman called it a “disappointing decision for a traditionally bipartisan event between governors and White House occupants.”
Governors from both parties attended a White House meeting and dinner at last year’s convention. The meeting drew attention for a verbal spat between Mr. Trump and Maine Democratic Governor Janet Mills, in which the president pressed Mills on the issue of transgender women in sports and Mills responded: “We’ll see you in court.”
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