In a classic display of modern political theater, Maryland Governor Wes Moore reached for the race card after being snubbed from a White House dinner, despite a mountain of evidence suggesting the exclusion is actually rooted in a bitter, high-stakes policy brawl.
As the National Governors Association (NGA) descends on Washington this February, President Trump has upended decades of tradition by revoking invitations for Moore, the NGA Vice Chair, and Colorado Governor Jared Polis for a scheduled black-tie gala.
Rather than acknowledging the substantive, months-long warfare between his administration and the White House, “Moore … condemned the president’s threat to deploy the National Guard to Baltimore and defund … Maryland’s efforts to replace the fallen Key Bridge,” The Washington Post noted.
Moore took to CNN’s “State of the Union” to offer a racially charged non-explanation. When pressed by Dana Bash on why he was being singled out, Moore pivoted away from the political fray, stating, “It’s not lost to me that I’m the only black governor in this country. And I find that to be particularly painful.”
While Moore stopped just short of a direct accusation of racism, telling Bash he “can’t speak to the president’s intent,” the implication was as subtle as a sledgehammer: the only reason for his exclusion must be the color of his skin.
This claim borders on the ridiculous when one examines the actual state of play. The NGA is currently a house divided, fractured by a “Sanctuary Schism” where the administration is aggressively tying federal funding to immigration enforcement. Moore has been a chief antagonist in this drama, vehemently condemning Trump’s threats to deploy the National Guard to Baltimore and clashing over federal funding for the Key Bridge replacement.
Similarly, Governor Polis — who is emphatically not black — was also uninvited. Polis has been locked in a scorched-earth feud with the President over the conviction of Tina Peters, leading Trump to publicly label him a “scumbag.” The exclusion of both Moore and Polis clearly tracks with their roles as leaders of the “resistance” bloc within the NGA, opposing everything from the “War Department’s” control over National Guard units to Dr. Mehmet Oz’s new public health directives.
In response to the snubs, Moore declared that the NGA would officially withdraw its support for the dinner, asserting that “if you exclude one, you exclude us all.” However, by appearing to choose to frame clear-cut political consequences as a matter of racial “pain,” Moore is ignoring the reality of his own political brinkmanship.
In the current “Federal-State” power struggle, invitations aren’t being revoked based on demographics — they’re being revoked based on who is standing in the way of the administration’s agenda.
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