Gov. Wes Moore on Friday said he had a “productive” National Governors Association meeting with President Donald Trump, but the circumstances –- including an earlier White House snub — forecast continued tension between the two men with a complex, layered relationship.
Moore, the NGA vice chair, announced Friday morning that he planned to attend a business meeting with fellow governors at the White House. “But let me be abundantly clear: I will not participate in political stunts,” the Democratic governor said.
His participation followed a decision by the NGA to withdraw facilitating the meeting because it was unclear if Moore and Jared Polis of Colorado would be permitted to attend. Trump had earlier blasted the two governors on social media as “not worthy of being there.”
Moore and Polis also said they were not invited to a dinner at the White House on Saturday night.
Moore’s decision to attend Friday’s breakfast meeting presented another in a series of fraught choices in which Moore must be pragmatic — representing Maryland’s interests — without appearing to surrender to Trump, who is broadly unpopular in the state.
“We’ve got [funding] situations involving Western Maryland and the Key Bridge where you kind of have to play nice,” said political science professor Todd Eberley of St. Mary’s College of Maryland.
“At the same time, the evidence shows that when you play nice, playing nice doesn’t necessarily do much. The last thing you want is to have it look like you’re cowtowing,” Eberley said. “Politically, there really is not an upside to Moore getting along with Trump in Maryland.
The White House, in an email response to Baltimore Sun questions, disputed media accounts that Trump had reversed course by finally inviting Moore and Polis to the breakfast meeting.
“Moore and Polis were invited when all of the Democrats were invited to the working breakfast,” a White House official said.
The episode underscores the confrontational approach Trump has taken during his second term toward state leaders he does not like. He has at times threatened to withhold federal money or send in troops over the objections of local leaders.
Moore’s and Trump’s relationship is particularly complicated because Moore is seen as a potential presidential candidate. The governor has said he is focused on serving a second term if he is reelected in November.
“There’s so much speculation about Moore’s future plans so everybody wonders if this is all part of maneuvering for 2028,” Eberley said. “For Trump, he certainly looks to Moore and sees somebody who is potentially a rising star.”
Friday’s meeting, Moore said in a statement afterward, offered a chance “to speak with the transportation secretary about transportation issues. In the case of Maryland, it was the American Legion bridge and the Francis Scott Key Bridge to make sure that we have full partners inside that work.”
And, the governor said, ” it was a chance to be able to express ideas and speak truth to power.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Have a news tip? Contact Jeff Barker at jebarker@baltsun.com
