Democrat governors and Donald Trump are more or less at war, so it was not exactly a surprise to see Trump omit some Democrats from the annual governors' event and strategy meeting.
Well, the snub did not go over as planned, as Republicans wound up backing their fellow governors, and it appeared that the annual event was going to be outright cancelled.
This led to Trump backtracking, opening the event back up to all governors.
On Monday, reports were blowing up that Democrat governors were not invited to what is usually a bipartisan event at the White House.
When White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about the snub, she fired back, "These are White House events and the President can invite whomever he wants. With that being said, the White House has been coordinating meetings with the President, cabinet secretaries, and Democrat governors for more than a week.”
She then added, "Democrats were invited to the dinner at the White House. This is a non-story."
I am sure that Trump thought Republican governors would back him, but that was not the case.
Brandon Tatum, acting Executive Director and CEO of the National Governors Association, immediately responded to the snub, stating, "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. To disinvite individual governors to the White House sessions undermines an important opportunity for federal-state collaboration.”
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican who is the chairman of the NGA, then sent out a letter to the association, stating that the NGA was "no longer serving as the facilitator.”
My guess is that Trump was hoping to avoid a repeat of last year’s meeting when he and then-Gov. Janet Mills, a Maine Democrat, got into it in front of the media.
But I would also wager he never expected Republicans to back out of the meeting.
Trump and Stitt apparently had a little chat, and Trump informed him that all the governors were invited to the event.
Stitt stated, “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.”
His letter to the governors continued, “President Trump said this was always his intention, and we have addressed the misunderstanding in scheduling.”
Trump needs to accept the fact that he no longer has a death grip on the Republican Party, as more and more people are bucking back. That is what happens when your approval rating tanks and an election is right around the corner. Trump has to figure out a way to start playing nice, even when it means eating a little crow. If he doesn’t, the entire party will pay the price at the ballot box in about nine months.
