President Donald Trump confirmed this week that he is excluding the nation’s only gay male and Black governors from an upcoming White House event.

In a message posted to his Truth Social platform Wednesday afternoon, the president said he had not invited out Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) to White House events that have traditionally been part of the National Governors Association’s annual gathering in Washington, scheduled for February 19 to 21.

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The news follows a days-long controversy over reports that Trump intended to exclude all Democratic governors from a traditionally bipartisan business meeting scheduled for February 20.

According to NBC News, National Governors Association (NGA) officials learned on February 5 that only Republican governors would be invited to attend the White House meeting, leading NGA leadership to inform members that it had removed the event from its agenda. “No NGA resources will be used to support transportation for this activity,” a letter to members read, according to the New York Times.

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In a separate letter, Gov. Kevin Stitt (R-OK), the chair of the NGA, told members on Monday that the group was “no longer serving as the facilitator” for the White House meeting with Trump, according to NBC News.

Additionally, the Times reported last week that Trump had personally blocked Polis and NGA vice chair Moore’s invitations to a separate bipartisan dinner for governors and their spouses at the White House, also scheduled for February 20.

In an interview with CNN’s State of the Nation on Sunday, Moore responded to reports of his exclusion from the dinner, telling host Dana Bash, “It’s not lost on 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.”

In a joint statement released on Tuesday, members of the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) said that “if the reports are true that not all governors are invited to these events, which have historically been productive and bipartisan opportunities for collaboration, we will not be attending the White House dinner this year.”

According to NBC News, following a conversation with Trump on Wednesday, Stitt emailed NGA governors informing them that the president is now “inviting all governors” to the White House business meeting.

Trump “was very clear in his communications with me that this is a National Governors Association’s event, and he looks forward to hosting you and hearing from governors across the country,” Stitt wrote, according to NBC News.

“I’m excited, I’ll be at the White House,” Stitt told the Oklahoma Voice. “I’m really pumped about going.”

NBC News reports that Moore had also received an invitation to the business meeting on Wednesday, though it remains unclear whether he will attend the White House dinner.

The outlet also notes that Polis, the nation’s only out gay governor, has not commented on whether he has received an invitation to either event. But a spokesperson for the Colorado governor told The Advocate this week that Polis “and other Governors are focused on delivering results for our states, not playing games.”

“Governor Polis does welcome recommendations for popular local restaurants now that he and other Democratic Governors may have a free evening to explore the best DC has to offer,” the spokesperson added.  

In his Wednesday afternoon Truth Social post, the president lashed out at Stitt, describing the Oklahoma governor as a “RINO” (Republican in name only), and claiming that Stitt’s claim that only Republicans had been invited to the NGA business meeting was “false.”

“The invitations were sent to ALL Governors, other than two, who I feel are not worthy of being there,” Trump wrote. He did not explain why

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