• Maryland Gov. Wes Moore told CBS News he will not attend the White House governors meeting after President Trump excluded him from the NGA dinner and called him “not worthy of being there”
• The confrontation caps months of escalating tensions between the two leaders over Baltimore crime, Key Bridge funding, National Guard deployment and Moore’s military record
• Republican NGA Chairman Kevin Stitt defended Moore as “an exceptional vice chair” while 18 Democratic governors announced a boycott of the White House dinner in solidarity

ANNAPOLIS, MD (TDR) — The growing Trump Moore feud reached a new peak this week when Maryland Gov. Wes Moore flatly declined to attend the National Governors Association meeting at the White House after President Donald Trump singled him out for exclusion from the annual governors dinner and branded him “not worthy of being there.”

The clash between the nation’s only Black governor and the president has transformed from a policy disagreement over Baltimore crime and federal troop deployments into a deeply personal confrontation with implications for federal-state relations, bipartisan governance and the 2028 presidential landscape.

Trump Moore Feud Breaks Bipartisan Tradition

The immediate trigger came when the White House informed the NGA on Feb. 5 that only Republican governors would be invited to the annual business meeting scheduled for Feb. 20 — breaking decades of bipartisan tradition. Moore and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis were further singled out with exclusions from the separate black-tie dinner the following evening.

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In a Truth Social post on Feb. 11, Trump laid out his reasoning for the snub:

“The invitations were sent to ALL Governors, other than two, who I feel are not worthy of being there. I did not invite the Governor of Colorado, who has unfairly incarcerated in solitary confinement a 73-year-old cancer stricken woman, plus the foul mouthed Governor of Maryland, who fraudulently stated that he received Military medals, A LIE, is doing a terrible job on the rebuilding of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, and has allowed Baltimore to continue to be a Crime Disaster.”

Moore responded during a CBS News town hall with Norah O’Donnell on Feb. 13, delivering what became the defining exchange of the confrontation:

“I do want to be clear to the president — respectfully, you do not determine my worthiness. God determines my worthiness. The people of Maryland determine my worthiness. They are who I answer to. Not him.”

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When asked directly whether he would attend the White House meeting, Moore was unequivocal:

“Oh, I’m good. I will not go. Absolutely not.”

Republican NGA Chair Pushes Back on Trump

The exclusion drama produced an unusual spectacle — a Republican governor publicly defending a Democrat against a Republican president. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, who chairs the NGA, wrote in a letter to all governors on Feb. 10 that Moore had been an outstanding partner in the bipartisan organization.

“Governor Moore has been an exceptional Vice Chair, and I am deeply grateful for his partnership and leadership during this pivotal year for NGA.”

Stitt pulled the NGA’s facilitation of the White House meeting entirely, writing that “because NGA’s mission is to represent all 55 governors, the Association is no longer serving as the facilitator for that event.”

Trump responded by turning his fire on the Republican chairman, calling Stitt a “RINO” — Republican in name only — and accusing him of misrepresenting the NGA invitation situation. The president eventually reversed course on the business meeting, extending invitations to all governors, but doubled down on excluding Moore and Polis from the dinner.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the president’s authority over the guest list during a briefing:

“It is a dinner at the White House. It’s the people’s house. It’s also the president’s home, and he can invite whomever he wants to dinners and events here at the White House.”

Leavitt also noted that Moore had been invited to the dinner in 2025 and did not attend.

Eighteen Democratic Governors Join Boycott

The exclusion triggered a cascading show of solidarity. Eighteen Democratic governors released a joint statement announcing they would skip the White House dinner unless all governors were included.

“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. Democratic governors remain united and will never stop fighting to protect and make life better for people in our states.”

The boycott included prominent governors from major states — a significant rebuke to a president who hosted a bipartisan NGA gathering just one year ago that included all 55 governors and territories.

NGA interim CEO Brandon Tatum framed the stakes in institutional terms:

“To disinvite individual governors to the White House sessions undermines an important opportunity for federal-state collaboration. At this moment in our nation’s history, it is critical that institutions continue to stand for unity, dignity, and constructive engagement.”

Trump Moore Feud Timeline: From Cooperation to Collision

What makes the current standoff especially notable is how recently the two leaders appeared to find common ground. The rift did not erupt overnight — it escalated through a series of confrontations that each raised the stakes.

January 2026: Moore traveled to the White House as part of a bipartisan group of governors to sign a memorandum of understanding on energy reforms with the PJM regional grid operator. The visit demonstrated working federal-state cooperation on lowering energy costs and improving grid reliability.

August 2025: Trump called Baltimore a “hellhole” and threatened to deploy National Guard troops to the city, mirroring deployments in Washington, D.C. Moore fired back, calling Trump’s rhetoric “purely performative” and inviting the president to walk Baltimore’s streets to see public safety progress firsthand. Moore also mocked the president on social media, offering a “golf cart” to “President Bone Spurs” — a reference to Trump’s Vietnam-era draft deferments.

August 2025: Trump escalated by threatening to pull federal funding for the Key Bridge replacement, writing on Truth Social: “I gave Wes Moore a lot of money to fix his demolished bridge. I will now have to rethink that decision???” The bridge funding was actually authorized under President Biden through a bipartisan spending package.

Summer 2024: The New York Times reported that Moore had claimed on a 2006 White House fellowship application to have received a Bronze Star he had not yet been awarded. Moore’s commanding officer, Lt. Gen. Michael Fenzel, confirmed he had told Moore to include the medal because it had been recommended and approved by senior leadership.

December 2024: Moore received the Bronze Star in a private ceremony at the governor’s mansion, 18 years after his Afghanistan deployment with the 82nd Airborne Division. Fenzel personally presented the medal, calling it “righting a wrong” caused by a paperwork delay.

Baltimore Crime Data Contradicts Trump Claims

One of Trump’s central criticisms of Moore — that Baltimore remains a “Crime Disaster” — runs headlong into the city’s own crime statistics, which show significant and sustained declines.

According to a joint statement from the Baltimore mayor’s office, the city recorded 133 homicides in 2025 — the fewest in nearly 50 years. That represented a 31.44% decline from 2024 and continued three consecutive years of reductions.

The Baltimore Police Department’s mid-year report showed additional declines across multiple crime categories: a 22% decrease in homicides through June, a 19% decrease in non-fatal shootings, and an 11% reduction in overall reported offenses.

The Council on Criminal Justice confirmed that Baltimore’s homicide decline was the largest of any city in its national study sample between 2019 and 2025.

Thomas Abt, a criminology professor at the University of Maryland and founder of the Center for the Study and Practice of Violence Reduction, told NPR that the city’s approach centered on targeting the small groups of people and places responsible for driving the majority of violence. Abt was skeptical of Trump’s National Guard strategy:

“There’s really not a lot of crime benefits to having the National Guard in particular patrolling streets. I think there’s a lot of risks in terms of reducing community trust with this overmilitarized approach to public safety.”

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott has attributed the decline to a combination of community violence intervention programs, increased law enforcement coordination, and targeted prosecution strategies.

However, critics point out that while homicides have plummeted, Baltimore still ranks among the most dangerous cities nationally. A U.S. News and World Report ranking placed Baltimore fourth in the nation for crime, behind Memphis, Oakland and St. Louis — data the White House has cited in defending Trump’s criticism.

Key Bridge Dispute Adds Infrastructure Dimension

The Francis Scott Key Bridge reconstruction has become another flashpoint in the Trump Moore feud. The bridge collapsed in March 2024 after being struck by a container ship, killing six workers and disrupting the Port of Baltimore.

Congress passed a bipartisan spending package under President Biden to cover the full cost of the replacement. Trump’s August 2025 threat to “rethink” that funding alarmed Maryland officials across party lines.

Moore’s office has pointed to the Maryland Transportation Authority achieving 70% design completion in 14 months — a process that typically takes seven years for projects of that scale. The cost increase from an initial $2 billion estimate to $4.3-$5.2 billion reflected rising material costs, federal design standards, and a $1 billion pier protection system.

In a notable contrast to the current hostility, Moore and Trump’s own Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy issued a joint statement in January 2026 agreeing to “accelerate the reconstruction” together.

Race, 2028 Ambitions and the Bigger Picture

Moore, 47, has not shied away from acknowledging the racial dimension of the confrontation. As the nation’s only Black governor and only the third Black governor in U.S. history, his exclusion from the traditionally bipartisan event drew additional scrutiny — particularly after the White House posted and then deleted a racist video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes in recent weeks.

“As the nation’s only Black governor, I can’t ignore that being singled out for exclusion from this bipartisan tradition carries an added weight — whether that was the intent or not.”

When asked by CNN whether race played a role, Moore said he could not speak to Trump’s intent but acknowledged the optics.

Maryland political analyst Kimberly Morgan of Fox Baltimore suggested the feud serves Moore’s political interests as much as it serves Trump’s base:

“I don’t think that this is a feud that he necessarily wants to end anytime soon because it keeps his name in the national spotlight.”

Morgan also cautioned that Marylanders could pay the price for the escalation:

“I think it would be very on brand for Trump to fight back with whatever means he has necessary, and if that includes something that is detrimental to the residents of Baltimore or the residents of Maryland in general, I don’t think he would hesitate to do it.”

Moore, who announced his reelection campaign in September 2025, is widely considered a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender. The confrontation with Trump has raised his national profile significantly — though whether that visibility helps or hurts Maryland residents navigating federal-state disputes over infrastructure funding, disaster relief and law enforcement remains an open question.

State of the State Takes Aim at Federal Policies

Moore used his fourth State of the State address on Feb. 11 — the same day Trump posted his “not worthy” comments — to directly challenge the administration’s impact on Maryland.

“Marylanders are seeing firsthand how the White House agenda is making their lives worse.”

Moore highlighted federal job cuts, healthcare concerns and reductions in food assistance programs, framing them as direct consequences of administration policy. He also took a personal shot at the president:

“I will not stand here and tell you I’ve gotten it all right. I am more self-aware than the president of the United States.”

Maryland Republican leaders pushed back. Rep. Andy Harris suggested Moore’s exclusion was a foreseeable consequence of his confrontational approach, telling local media that “what goes around comes around.”

Maryland Senate Minority Leader Stephen Hershey offered a more measured critique:

“Marylanders expect their governor to focus on Maryland’s problems and take responsibility for the decisions made right here at home.”

What Comes Next

The NGA’s annual winter meeting runs Feb. 19-21 in Washington, D.C. As of Friday, Moore’s office said his attendance at the Feb. 20 business meeting remains “conditional” on guidance from the White House — though his town hall comments suggested he has already made up his mind.

The Feb. 21 dinner remains the larger flashpoint. With Moore and Polis still excluded and 18 Democratic governors threatening a boycott, the traditionally celebratory event could become either a partisan affair or collapse entirely.

The broader question is whether the Trump Moore feud represents a uniquely personal clash or a template for how the White House will handle governors who publicly challenge the administration. If bipartisan institutional events become leverage for punishing political opponents, the calculation changes for every governor — Democrat or Republican — considering whether to voice disagreement with a sitting president.

Does the escalating confrontation between Trump and Moore serve the policy interests of Maryland residents — or has the political theater overtaken the governance both leaders were elected to deliver?

Sources

This report was compiled using information from CBS News’ reporting on Moore’s town hall response, The Hill’s coverage of the NGA meeting cancellation and Moore’s decision to skip the meeting, CNN’s reporting on the invitation reversals, NBC News’ coverage of governor exclusions, Fox Baltimore’s reporting on the feud timeline, official statements from the Office of Governor Wes Moore, Baltimore Police Department crime data, the Council on Criminal Justice’s Baltimore crime analysis, NPR’s reporting on Baltimore crime reduction strategies, TIME’s coverage of the Democratic governor boycott, and Maryland Matters’ reporting on the Bronze Star controversy.

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