On Sunday, CNN’s Dana Bash interviewed Maryland Governor Wes Moore (D-Md.) on State of the Union for nearly nine minutes, but she failed to ask about the Washington Free Beacon's new report on how Moore has lied for many years about his own life story.
Instead, Bash began by asking about the video of the Obamas cartooned as monkeys posted (and then taken down) by Trump. There were several firm questions about more gerrymandering in Maryland, and then it turned back to a supportive direction.
She asked Moore several questions about why he thought that he and Governor Jared Polis (D-Colo.) were not invited to the annual meeting of governors at the White House, why he was "being called out and excluded" by Trump.
Moore replied that “you can uninvite, you can un-tweet, but you can never erase.” He then claimed that he is “not interested in being able to go to fancy dinners with the president if he [Trump] wants to exclude certain members.”
Moore continued to declare that “since the president decided that I’m not going to be invited, this will not be an NGA event.” Bash asked if he had a “commitment from Republican governors on that” to which he replied that they had a “commitment from the organization.”
Governor Moore Declares Racial Undertones Amid White House Dinner Exclusion#cnn #mrc #moore #maryland #whitehouse pic.twitter.com/KRoAYtqDIu
— Sarah (@scbpoli) February 12, 2026
Bash pressed Moore thought he was being “excluded from this dinner.” Moore responded “It's not lost to me that I'm the only black governor in this country. And I find that to be particularly painful.”
Moore’s emphasis on race comes just weeks after he was caught falsely claiming that the Ku Klux Klan chased his great-grandfather out of South Carolina. In his Free Beacon story, Andrew Kerr, a former MRC Bulldog Award winner, reported that historical church records indicate that Moore’s great-grandfather made a “orderly and public transfer” out of South Carolina after being “appointed to succeed a prominent Jamaican pastor” who had passed away.
At the end of the interview, Bash asked if he was certain that race was the president’s motive for excluding him. Moore replied “I can't speak to the president's intent. It's not lost on me, but I can't speak to the president's intent.”
Click "Expand" to view the transcript:
State of the Union with Jake Tapper and Dana Bash
2/8/2026
9:35:56-9:39:14
DANA BASH: Governor, later this month, the president, President Trump will host an annual meeting of governors at the White House. He's only inviting Republican governors to that, which is traditionally a bipartisan event. And he's specifically excluding you and Democratic Governor Jared Polis from a separate dinner.
You're the vice chair of the National Governors Association. Do you know why you are being called out and excluded?
GOVERNOR WES MOORE (D-MD): It's particularly confusing, because, just a few weeks ago, I led a group of Democratic and Republican governors to the White House. And we had a meeting with the White House where we signed a memorandum of understanding around energy and trying to increase energy supply and bring down energy costs.
And so one thing I know is this, is that you can uninvite, you can un- tweet, but you can never erase. And so if I was selected by my peers, both Democratic and Republican governors, to serve as the vice chair of the National Governors Association. We focused on getting things done for our people. And we're not interested in being able to go to fancy dinners with the president if he wants to exclude certain members.
BASH: Well, he's...
MOORE: So, since the president decided that I'm not going to be invited, this will not be an NGA event.
BASH: Meaning what?
MOORE: Meaning the NGA will not support this dinner. If the president wants to have a dinner with his friends and have a black-tie dinner with his friends on that night, that is perfectly fine. It will not be an NGA event.
BASH: And you have a commitment from Republican governors on that?
MOORE: Oh, we have a commitment from the organization. This is a bipartisan organization, where Democratic and Republican governors come together to work on addressing the needs of our people. And I'm honored that my peers selected me to be the vice chair of it. I am thankful for the leadership of Kevin Stitt, a Republican, the Republican governor for Oklahoma, who serves as the chair.
And we know that, in this time, the president cannot use this time to divide our organization. Our organization stands firm that, if you exclude one, you exclude us all, and this will not be an NGA event.
BASH: Governor, before I let you go, I just want to understand what you think the reason is that you are being singled out and Jared Polis, but, from your perspective, why are you being excluded from this dinner?
MOORE: Well, I have long learned that I'm not trying to get inside of the president's psyche. It's not a good use of my time.
It's not lost to me that I'm the only black governor in this country. And I find that to be particularly painful, considering the fact that the president is trying to exclude me from an organization that not only my peers have asked me to help to lead, but then also a place where I know I belong in.
And so I have long learned and I have talked to the people and the children of my state is that I'm never in a room because of someone's benevolence nor kindness. I'm not in a room because of a social experiment. I'm in the room because I belong there and the room was incomplete until I got there.
BASH: You're saying that he's excluding you because of the color of your skin?
MOORE: Well, I don't know. I can't speak to the president's intent. It's not lost on me, but I can't speak to the president's intent.
BASH: Ok. Governor Wes Moore, thank you so much.
