White House reverses, invites Maryland and Colorado governors back to annual breakfast

WASHINGTON (WBFF) — A White House breakfast meant to bring together all 50 governors turned into a last-minute political fight after Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis were initially disinvited, then reinstated shortly before the event.

An announcer introduced “the President of the United States Donald J. Trump” as the gathering got underway.

ALSO READ | Gov. Wes Moore said he will attend governors breakfast at White House

Moore and Polis had been told they were no longer welcome after the president insisted they were not worthy of attending. The White House later reversed course.

Moore said on social media that he would attend, but would not play along with what he viewed as political theater.

“I will attend today’s business meeting with my colleagues at the White House. But let me be abundantly clear, I will not participate in political stunts,” Moore tweeted.

The dispute came amid an escalating back-and-forth between Moore and Trump. Moore has long blamed the president for many of Maryland’s problems. Last week, Trump criticized Moore on social media, writing, “The foul mouthed governor of Maryland who fraudulently stated that he received military medals… a lie… is doing a terrible job on the rebuilding of the Francis Scott Key Bridge and has allowed Baltimore to continue to be a crime disaster.”

At the Statehouse this week, the tug of war left some lawmakers shaking their heads.

During the breakfast, Trump said, “We’re going to ask the press to leave. That way we can talk very candidly.”

The National Governors Association, which typically hosts the breakfast, pulled out after learning two governors were no longer invited. But with the White House reversing course at the last hour, Moore attended and said he would not engage with Trump’s criticism.

“I’m here to focus on the people of my state and I’m not going to spend a second talking about a petty attack by the president,” Moore said.

ALSO READ | In Depth: President Trump and Gov. Moore continue to trade barbs

Political analyst John Dedie said the episode ultimately benefited Moore politically.

“I was surprised by it in many ways its a win-win for Wes Moore because… he went into the lions den,” Dedie said.

Dedie also said the White House faced mounting pressure as other governors weighed whether to boycott.

“They were losing the PR [public relations] battle and when you have all the other governors saying, ‘well if one isn’t invited all 49 aren’t showing up’ it wasn’t going to make Trump looked good,” Dedie said.

Political analysts said Maryland had little to gain from the politics surrounding the breakfast, but Dedie said the confrontation could raise Moore’s standing with voters.

“For Moore’s profile it only helps him with voters because voters wanna see a fight,” Dedie noted.