WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that an upcoming annual dinner and meeting with governors is not exclusively Republican and will include most Democratic governors as well.
He made the remarks in a post on social platform Truth Social after Democratic governors publicly pledged to boycott reportedly partisan White House events.
"The invitations were sent to ALL Governors, other than two, who I feel are not worthy of being there," Trump wrote, noting that he did not invite Colorado Governor Jared Polis and Maryland Governor Wes Moore, both of whom are Democrats.
"I look forward to seeing the Republican Governors, and some of the Democrat Governors who were worthy of being invited, but most of whom won't show up," Trump added.
Trump's statement came a few days after Politico magazine reported on Friday that the upcoming White House dinner with the National Governors Association (NGA) will only include Republicans -- "a break from its bipartisan past."
"The bipartisan White House governors meeting is an important tradition, and we are disappointed in the administration's decision to make it a partisan occasion this year," Brandon Tatum, acting executive director and CEO of the NGA, was quoted as saying in a statement.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the administration's decision Tuesday. She said that the White House is "also the president's home, and so he can invite whomever he wants to dinners and events here at the White House."
Democratic governors have publicly pledged to boycott planned White House events, saying in a joint statement Tuesday that "If the reports are true that not all governors are invited to these events, which have historically been productive and bipartisan opportunities for collaboration, we will not be attending the White House dinner this year."
Moore, the current vice chair of the NGA, recently told CNN that he found the White House's decision "particularly painful."
"It's not lost on me that I'm the only Black governor in this country, 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 my peers have asked me to help to lead, but then also a place where I know I belong in," Moore said. ■
