Governor Questions Exclusion From Presidential Dinner (Full Transcript)

A governor describes being left out of a presidential dinner, reflecting on race, belonging, and why he won’t claim to know the president’s intent.

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[00:00:00] Speaker 1: 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?

[00:00:11] Speaker 2: 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 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 all my peers have asked me to help to lead, but then also a place where I know I belong. And so I've long learned, and I've 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.

[00:00:51] Speaker 1: You're saying that he's excluding you because of the color of your skin?

[00:00:55] Speaker 2: 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.

Summary

A governor discusses being excluded from a presidential dinner, noting he is the only Black governor and that the exclusion feels painful and potentially tied to race, though he says he cannot speak to the president’s intent. He emphasizes his belief that he belongs in leadership spaces based on merit and that such rooms are incomplete without his presence.

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Title

Governor responds to exclusion from presidential dinner

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Keywords

exclusion

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race

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belonging

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Key Takeaways

The speaker feels singled out and excluded from a dinner involving peers and leadership roles.
He notes he is the only Black governor in the U.S., making the exclusion especially painful.
He avoids speculating about the president’s intent while acknowledging the racial context.
He stresses a message of belonging and merit: he is in rooms because he belongs, not due to benevolence.
The exchange highlights the tension between perceived discrimination and the difficulty of proving intent.

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Sentiments

Negative: The tone conveys hurt and frustration about being singled out and excluded, with underlying concern about possible racial bias, tempered by a measured refusal to claim certainty about intent.

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