President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he has invited the governors from both major parties — with two notable Democratic exceptions — to a traditionally bipartisan meeting at the White House next week.
An annual meeting at the White House between governors and the president — which has been slated for Feb. 20 — has in recent days emerged as a major source of conflict after National Governors Association officials said Trump was only planning to include Republican governors at the session.
But in a post to Truth Social on Wednesday afternoon, Trump said that invitations to the meeting “were sent to ALL governors” except Democratic Govs. Wes Moore of Maryland and Jared Polis of Colorado.
“The Invitations were sent out to all other Governors, Democrat and Republican,” he wrote. Trump also lashed out at Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt, the chair of the NGA, over the dispute, calling him a "RINO," or Republican in name only.
Trump's post conflicts with the latest information provided by the NGA, the bipartisan group of state executives whose business meeting with Trump is at the center of the controversy.
Shortly before Trump’s post on Wednesday, NGA leaders said Stitt had spoken with the White House about the meeting between Trump and the governors and that two two had agreed that all governors, from both major parties, would attend the Feb. 20 meeting.
“We’re pleased the president will welcome governors from all 55 states and territories to the White House. The bipartisan White House governors meeting is a valued tradition and an important opportunity to build bridges and hold constructive conversations,” Brandon Tatum, the CEO of the NGA said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
In an email sent Wednesday to his fellow NGA governors, Stitt wrote that Trump was “inviting all governors” to NGA Business Breakfast, scheduled for the morning of Feb. 20.
“He was very clear in his communications with me that this is a National Governors Association’s event, and he looks forward to hosting you and hearing from governors across the country. President Trump said this was always his intention, and we have addressed the misunderstanding in scheduling,” Stitt wrote in the Wednesday email, a copy of which was obtained by NBC News.
Even Moore had been invited on Wednesday afternoon, prior to Trump's Truth Social post, to attend the business meeting, a source familiar with the situation said. The source didn’t say whether Moore would attend.
A spokesperson for Polis didn’t directly respond to questions from NBC News about whether the Colorado governor had received an invitation.
“Governor Polis is focused on doing what’s best for Colorado, and that includes working with Democrats and Republicans to tackle our greatest challenges. It’s disappointing that states and the federal government working together to improve our lives has been resisted by this federal administration, but no matter what events Colorado is or isn’t invited to, Governor Polis will continue to focus on working with his fellow governors and anyone who wants to help make people’s lives better,” the spokesperson, Shelby Wieman, wrote in a text message.
The fate of a traditionally bipartisan dinner, a separate event from the business meeting, remains unclear.
NGA officials were informed by the White House last Thursday that only Republican governors would be invited to the Feb. 20 business meeting with Trump. NGA officials said they notified the group’s governors, and their staffs, on Friday that the business meeting would be removed from the NGA’s formal agenda.
On Monday, Stitt sent a letter to all NGA governors that explained that the NGA had been “informed that the White House intends to limit invitations to the annual business meeting, scheduled for February 20, to Republican governors only” and that, due to the group’s bipartisan mission, it was “no longer serving as the facilitator for that event.”
In his Truth Social post Wednesday, Trump blamed Stitt for the broader issue, accusing him of having “incorrectly stated my position on the very exclusive Governors Annual Dinner and Meeting at the White House.”
Trump wrote that it was “false” that the White House intends to limit invitations to the annual business meeting, scheduled for February 20th, to Republican Governors only.”
Responding to questions about Trump's accusations, Stitt spokesperson Abegail Cave said only that Stitt had received his invitation to the business meeting on Monday and that "he looks forward to the rest of his colleagues receiving their invitations today."
