Let's talk about Governors standing Trump up....

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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

Beau of The Fifth Column 0:01

Well, howdy there, Internet people, it's Bell again. So today, we're going to talk about governors standing Trump up. The National Governors Association has decided to remove the traditional White House meeting from its list of events. Trump decided that he only wanted to meet with Republican governors this year. That's not how the meeting works, and in fact, works against its actual goal. Once, Trump made his intention to make the meeting partisan known. Oklahoma's governor, Kevin Stitt, who is the chairman of the NGA, basically scrapped the whole thing. I know, you're probably thinking, Oklahoma has a Democratic governor? No, he's a Republican. In fact, he's kind of a super conservative.

Why did the National Governors Association change its meeting format?

Beau of The Fifth Column 0:54

He's on the far right on pretty much every culture war issue. Maybe he just understands that one party rule isn't good for anybody. In a letter that went out Monday, he told other governors, quote, NGA staff was informed that the White House intends to limit invitations to the annual business meeting, scheduled for February 20, to Republican governors only. Because NGA's mission is to represent all 55 governors, the association is no longer serving as the facilitator for that event, and it is no longer included in our official program. If you're wondering about the 55 governors, the NGA includes U.S. territorial governors as well. So, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S.

Beau of The Fifth Column 1:51

Virgin Islands. The NGA CEO said, quote,

How does Trump's decision impact bipartisan relationships among governors?

Beau of The Fifth Column 1:56

We cannot allow one divisive action to achieve its goal of dividing us. The solution is not to respond in kind, but to rise above and to remain focused on our shared duty to the people we serve. America's governors have always been models of pragmatic leadership, and that example is most important when Washington grows distracted by politics. Imagine doing this after calling an Olympic athlete a loser because he doesn't want to represent the entire country. So why did Trump destroy this meeting? It's probably not just that he's being overly partisan for once. His feelings are probably still hurt from last year's meeting when he tried to attack Maine's then governor and it blew up in his face. He was so mad, he said Mill's political career was over.

Beau of The Fifth Column 2:54

Here in real life, she's running for Senate and might be one of the reasons Republicans lose the majority. The other possible reason is also classic Trump.

What are the implications of excluding certain governors from meetings?

Beau of The Fifth Column 3:06

Racism. Governor Moore is the vice chair of the NGA. He said he was singled out to be disinvited from governor's events. Quote, My peers, both Democrats and Republicans, selected me to serve as the vice chair of the NGA. Another reason why it's hard not to see this decision as another example of blatant disrespect and a snub to the spirit of bipartisan federal-state partnership. 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.

Unknown 3:52

Whatever the reason, Trump's move has weakened only himself, because now, even though some Republican governors might still show up, the event is just a degraded photocopy of what it normally is. It's just another Trump convention of yes-men that doesn't help the American people at all. Anyway, it's just a thought.