Nation's only Black governor says race could have been the reason he was excluded from Trump event
Source: The Independent
Sunday 08 February 2026 14:49 EST
The nation’s only sitting Black governor was excluded from an upcoming bipartisan dinner for governors at the White House, a decision he feels could be rooted in racism. “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,” Gov. Wes Moore, Democrat of Maryland, wrote in a statement.
“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,” he added, calling the choice a sign of “blatant disrespect and a snub to the spirit of bipartisan federal-state partnership.”
The White House dismissed this reading of the decision. “Many Democrats were invited to dinner at the White House, and others were not,” a White House official told Politico. “These are White House events and the President reserves the right to invite whomever he wants.”
Jared Polis, the Democratic governor of Colorado, was also singled out for not being invited to the black-tie event. President Trump previously announced that this month’s annual meeting of governors at the White House will only include Republicans. The administration is still planning to host a bipartisan dinner with governors and their spouses while they are in Washington for the National Governors Association gathering, which begins on February 19. The NGA has said it will not consider the meeting or the dinner officially sanctioned NGA events.
Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/wes-moore-trump-governors-dinner-b2916292.html
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