JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Next week, the nation's governors will arrive here in Washington for bipartisan annual meetings. And after a lot of back and forth with the White House over the invite list, governors from both parties are invited to attend the traditional meeting at the White House with the president. But the chaos leading up to the meetings underscores Trump's history of unraveling Democratic norms and political relationships. NPR White House correspondent Deepa Shivaram brings us the story.
DEEPA SHIVARAM, BYLINE: The annual governors' meeting at the White House used to be a run-of-the-mill event, like the winners of the World Series or the Super Bowl meeting with the president. That's according to Thad Kousser, a professor of political science at UC San Diego.
THAD KOUSSER: It used to be just something that everyone would do, and it had no political content. It was part of the ceremonial head-of-state aspects of American politics. That has changed as presidents on both sides of the aisle have become so polarizing.
SHIVARAM: Kousser says governors and the president have historically shared a somewhat amiable relationship. Governors have needed help from the president and the federal government in handling crises like natural disasters or the COVID-19 pandemic. And presidents have needed governors to help drum up support for their agenda.
But under Trump, relationships have become increasingly tense with governors of blue states. The administration has been drafting plans to withhold federal public health funding to states like Illinois and Colorado. Trump has lashed out at Democratic governors of Minnesota Tim Walz and California's Gavin Newsom over immigration, National Guard troops and federal agents in their states and aid for natural disasters. At last year's gathering of governors at the White House, Trump went after Maine governor Janet Mills for her state's support of trans athletes.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: You'd better comply because otherwise, you're not getting any federal funding.
JANET MILLS: I'll see you in court.
TRUMP: Every state - good. I'll see you in court. I look forward to that. That should be a real easy one.
SHIVARAM: Trump's attacks have shined a spotlight onto certain Democrats, and in some ways, it's boosted their careers. Mills is now running for a Senate seat in Maine, challenging Republican Susan Collins. Newsom and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker have signaled their intention to run for president in 2028. Kousser says it's all part of the delicate dance governors from the opposing party of the president are playing.
KOUSSER: Governors and presidents need each other to advance their policies, but they also can score political points by attacking each other.
SHIVARAM: Trump has gone after governors in his own party, too. He was critical of Georgia Governor Brian Kemp after Kemp refused to alter the 2020 election outcome in favor of Trump. And this week, he attacked Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, who leads the bipartisan Governors Association. Stitt stood up for the bipartisan nature of the gathering at the White House, though Stitt is term-limited, so he can't run for governor again. Still, Kousser says Stitt and the Governors Association offered an important show of unity.
KOUSSER: What we're seeing here is a really impressive case of governors banding together to protect this institution - this job that they all have and love.
SHIVARAM: Though the unity might only go so far. Trump has still not invited two Democrats - Maryland's Wes Moore and Colorado's Jared Polis - to the White House for a formal dinner. And both Newsom and Moore say they're not attending the meeting with Trump at all.
Deepa Shivaram, NPR News, the White House. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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