Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore says the White House singled him out by excluding him from a couple of bipartisan events for the nation’s governors later this month.

The National Governors Association will be in Washington, D.C. for its annual meeting and dinner with the president from Feb. 19 to Feb. 21. According to Politico, and other reports, all Democratic governors have been disinvited from the meeting. Moore said the president is also excluding him from a separate dinner for governors and their spouses, along with Colorado Gov. Jared Polis.   

The long-standing tradition is an opportunity for state and federal governments to engage in person on pressing issues across the nation.

Moore is the vice chair of the National Governors Association (NGA).

“My peers, both Democrats and Republicans, selected me to serve as the Vice Chair of the NGA, another reason why 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 stated. “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.”

Moore asked why he was excluded

Moore was asked on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday if he knew why he was being excluded from the events.

Moore said he led a group of Democratic and Republican governors in a productive meeting last week at the White House over efforts to bring down energy costs, which is why his exclusion from the NGA events is puzzling.

“I’ve long-learned that I am trying not to get inside of the president’s psyche,” Moore said. “It’s not a good use of my time. it is  not lost on my that I am the only Black governor, and I find that to be particularly painful considering the fact that the president is trying to exclude me from an organization that, not only have my peers asked me to lead. but also a place I know I belong in.”

According to Politico, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement: “These are White House events and the president can invite whomever he wants.”

Not an official NGA event?

According to Moore, there is a commitment from the NGA that the events at the White House will not be official NGA gatherings.

“If the president wants to have a black-tie dinner with his friends on that night, that is fine, it will not be an NGA event,” Moore said. “This is a bipartisan organization where Democratic and Republican governors come together to work on addressing the needs of our people.

Moore added, “We know that in this time, the president cannot use this time to divide our organization.”

Politico obtained an email from the NGA confirming that the White House meeting will no longer be an association event.

“No NGA resources will be used to support transportation for this activity,” the email read.

Moore, Trump at odds

Gov. Moore and President Trump have had public spats, including over Baltimore’s crime and funding to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed in 2024.

“I promised the people of my state I will work with anybody but will bow down to nobody,” Moore said. “And I guess the President doesn’t like that.”

In August 2025, Mr. Trump threatened to deploy the National Guard to Baltimore to combat crime, which garnered pushback from city and state leaders.

At the time, Mr. Trump called Baltimore a “hellhole.”

“Chicago is a hellhole right now, Baltimore is a hellhole right now,” Mr. Trump said. “We have a right to do it because I have an obligation to do it to protect this country, and that includes Baltimore.”

The president also said that Baltimore was “so far gone.”

The White House at the time also shared an article by U.S. News and World Report that ranked Baltimore as the fourth most dangerous city in the country, behind St. Louis, Oakland, and Memphis.

Moore invited the president to Baltimore for a public safety walk on a day and time of his choosing.

The president responded by telling Moore to “clean up this crime disaster” before he considers coming to Baltimore.

“As he stated in his letter, the Governor welcomes a conversation about public safety that builds upon the progress of our current strategy, which has reduced violence and brought homicides in Baltimore to levels not seen in 50 years,” the governor’s office stated. “We know there is more work to be done, and are committed to doing it.”

The president posted on the social media platform Truth Social that Baltimore is “out of control” and “crime-ridden.”

“Stop talking and get to work, Wes,” Mr. Trump wrote. “I’ll then see you on the streets!!!”

Last August, during the back-and-forth, Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social, “I gave Wes Moore a lot of money to fix his demolished bridge. I will now have to rethink that decision???”

The next day, when a Forbes reporter asked Mr. Trump if his reconsideration of Key Bridge funding was contingent on Moore “cleaning up the streets,” the president said, “No, we were very generous to him on a bridge, you know, a boat ran into a bridge and the bridge came down like I’ve never seen.”