Trump said in a post today: "The Republican governor of Oklahoma (I have won all 77 counties in the state three times, and I'm the only one who has ever done that!) misinterpreted my position on the White House annual governors' dinner and meeting: 'The White House plans to limit the invitation for the annual business meeting scheduled for February 20th to Republican governors.' This is pure rumor! Except for two governors whom I believe are not worthy of attending, all governors have received invitations. I did not invite the governor of Colorado, who unjustly imprisoned an elderly woman with cancer for nine years simply because she tried to combat Democratic voter fraud; I also did not invite the governor of Maryland, who swears constantly and falsely claims he was awarded a Purple Heart, which is a complete lie; he did a terrible job in rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge; he has allowed Baltimore to continue being a symbol of crime disaster. I even invited the lazy governor JB Pritzker and the bad governor of California Gavin Newsom to the dinner, despite their terrible performance. So, as usual, Stitt got it wrong again! Invitations have been sent to all other governors, including Democrats and Republicans. I look forward to seeing the Republican governors, as well as some Democrats who are worth inviting, but most of them probably won't come. Thank you for your attention! President Donald J. Trump"
Comment: In short, this is about Trump picking people he likes to attend meetings, directly excluding governors he doesn't like, turning a formal meeting where everyone can participate into a "gathering of allies," which resulted in the American Governors Association collectively boycotting it.
As the chairman of the association, Oklahoma's Republican governor Stitt led the opposition, and 18 Democratic governors collectively stated they would not attend the dinner. Essentially, it's a resistance against President Trump replacing institutional rules with personal preferences. It reveals the breakdown of the relationship between the federal government and states, severe party polarization, and indicates that the most basic negotiation mechanism in American politics has failed.
Trump plans to hold a governors' meeting at the White House on February 20, 2026, local time.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1856906106716555/
Statement: The article represents the personal views of the author.