Chapter 1: Why was Governor Wes Moore surprised about not being invited to the White House dinner?
Maryland Governor Wes Moore was taken aback when he learned that he wasn't on President Donald Trump's invite list for the White House's annual meeting for governors, a historically bipartisan event. As a leading figure in the Democratic Party, a larger question looms, though, for Moore.
How does he think his party can prove to voters that they've figured out a way forward heading into this year's midterm elections? Hello, and welcome to USA Today's The Excerpt. I'm USA Today White House correspondent Francesca Chambers. Today's Thursday, February 19, 2026. And joining me now is Maryland Governor Wes Moore. Governor Moore, thank you so much for being here.
It's great to be with you, Francesca. Thank you.
I wanted to start with your dispute with President Donald Trump. He said this week that the polluted spill in the Potomac River is your fault and you should call and ask for his help if you need it. Have you?
So what the president is talking about is a break in a DC pipe that took place on federal land. How Maryland gets caught up in this, I have no idea.
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Chapter 2: How does Governor Moore believe the Democratic Party can regain voter trust?
That is just some very creative facts from the presidents of the United States. The reason that we were involved starting in early January when this first happened was because we heard from our neighbors about this break and I wanted to make sure that there was no contagion that hit the state of Maryland And I believe in helping your neighbors.
And so that's why our Maryland Department of the Environment were some of the first boots on the ground, that they've been testing water quality, that they have assisted Washington, D.C. in their quest of being able to address the issue of the spillage, and why it's now been over a week since that issue of the spillage has now been solved. And now the problem is solved.
Now the president wants to reach out and not just say that it's been our fault, which we had nothing to do with this, but also not acknowledging the fact that this was his responsibility. This was the federal government whose job it was to do this. And since they didn't do it, I did.
And so if the president wants me to ask politely, here's my ask, Mr. President, yes, I had to do your job for the past month, but please, will you please start doing your job?
What is your motivation for being combative with President Trump at times and then other times you're not?
Well, this is not about being combative with President Trump. I have no desire of being combative with the President of the United States, but I also have no desire of watching my people be attacked. I'm just built different, right? I mean, I'm a soldier by nature. I fight for my people. I defend my people. And when I'm watching someone attack my people, I have no problem returning fire.
And I don't care if it happens to be the president of the United States. I have no desire to get into a back and forth with the president.
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Chapter 3: What was the context of the dispute between Governor Moore and President Trump?
I just want to make sure that the president understands that fighting for Americans means fighting for Marylanders too.
You've said it's not lost on you that you're the only black governor in this country and you were excluded from what had traditionally been a bipartisan dinner at the White House. You also said that President Trump's actions speak for themselves when you were asked point blank during a recent town hall if you believe he's a racist. You deliberately declined to call him one. Why is that?
Well, because I can't speak to the president's heart. I can't speak to what he feels or what he says behind closed doors when I or others are not around. But I can speak to his actions, and I can speak to how his actions hit. members of our community, members of the black community.
And I know that when I'm watching him do things like cutting scholarships and grants for HBCUs intentionally, when I'm watching him do the greatest assault on black female employment in the past year that we have seen in our nation's history,
When I'm watching doing things like saying that our history doesn't matter or that 8A programs should be canceled or that our books should be banned, I can tell you that his actions are speaking a whole lot louder than maybe he understands or realize about does he really support every community in this country or does he support the friends he's giving tax cuts to while the rest of us just end up carrying the bag for the rest of his policies.
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Chapter 4: How did Governor Moore respond to Trump's accusations regarding the Potomac spill?
So are you currently planning to attend a separate breakfast that's taking place for governors at the White House this week?
Well, I know we're going to attend all the variety of things that's taking place with the other governors. The NGA is one of one. It serves a very unique role where it's the only place where you watch our nation's governors, both Democratic and Republican governors, come together to discuss real issues and real topics.
And I'm proud that I was elected by my peers to serve as vice chair of the organization. We will continue all the traditions of being able to make sure that we're spending time together, getting to know each other, Republicans and Democrats, and work together. But none of us are interested in attending a reality television show set. And we also know that if you are excluding individuals
part of our organization, then that means you are excluding the organization and the organization as a whole, the NGA, will not participate in something that all the governors are not invited to.
So you're not going to the breakfast?
No. If all the governors are not invited to, there is no NGA breakfast. That is just the president deciding who he wants to invite. And the president can invite whoever he wants, but it will not be a National Governors Association event.
Were you invited to it?
No. The president's been very clear on multiple occasions that he does not want to see me. So I'm fine with that.
He's actually holding a Black History Month event just around the corner right now. What do you think he's done to help black Americans?
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Chapter 5: What are Governor Moore's thoughts on being combative with President Trump?
And he was. And so do I think President Biden made the right decision not to run? I do. And do I wish people who are around him would have advised him earlier? Yes. But I also know the man who stood by us when we needed the president to do that most.
You said recently that you see no reason to run for president in 2028. What would change your mind?
I mean, I don't know what would change my mind. I'm a pretty confident person in where I am and where I stand on things. I'm someone who believes we're doing good work in the state of Maryland. I think Marylanders believe that too.
I'm someone who believes that our mission of addressing this issue of child poverty and the racial wealth gap are things that we've made real progress on, but we still have more work to do. And so I just know that I'm not one of these people that's been in this business for 20 and 25 years, going from job to job to job. thinking about what you want to do next.
I'm someone who ran for office for the first time in my life because there were things that I wanted to accomplish for my state. And I just think that there's more work to do.
And given that you're a former athlete, I do have to ask you before we let you go, have you been watching the Olympics? And is there anybody in particular you've been rooting for?
So real talk, I have not. I'm not as big in a Winter Olympics fan. Like Summer Olympics, I'm generally all in and a whole bunch. The Winter Olympic sports, honestly, it's like a lot of them I don't understand. And for a lot of them, just to be honest, it's pain for me to almost watch it because I know how bad I would be at it.
So I'm rooting for everybody American and I want the country to do well, but I could not tell you a single thing about, frankly, a single sport.
Not even the ones the Marylanders are competing in?
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