Maryland Gov. Wes Moore shrugged off President Trump’s comment that he was “not worthy” to attend an annual White House dinner featuring governors from both parties, telling CBS News the president does “not determine my worthiness.”
Moore said that “if the point of the meeting is to turn it into name-calling … I will not go.”
The governor also said: “I will work with anyone. But I will bow down to no one. And I think the president has a problem with that.”
Moore spoke with CBS News senior correspondent Norah O’Donnell on Thursday during a town hall that will air Sunday evening.
A day before the conversation, Mr. Trump announced that every governor in the U.S. would be invited to a formal meeting and dinner at the White House as part of the National Governors Association’s annual conference next week — except for two Democrats.
Moore and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis were “not worthy of being there,” Mr. Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. The president criticized Moore’s performance as governor, called him “foul mouthed” and accused him of lying about receiving a Bronze Star in the military. (Moore has said he made an “honest mistake” on a White House fellowship application in 2006, and he eventually received a Bronze Star for his deployment to Afghanistan.)
In response, Moore told CBS News: “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.”
Initially, the Trump administration was going to exclude all Democratic governors from a formal business meeting at the White House next week, according to the National Governors Association and a source familiar with the matter. And Polis and Moore were specifically told they were not invited to a separate dinner the following day, leading most of the nation’s Democratic governors to announce that they wouldn’t attend out of solidarity.
A Polis spokesperson said in response to the snub that “no matter what events Colorado is or isn’t invited to, Governor Polis will continue to focus on working with his fellow governors and anyone who wants to help make people’s lives better.”
Watch CBS News Things That Matter: A Town Hall with Governor Wes Moore, moderated by Norah O’Donnell on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET/PT, right after 60 Minutes on CBS.
