For the first time ever, the NAACP is shutting the door on a sitting president—calling Trump a direct threat to civil rights.
Donald Trump will not be invited to the NAACP’s national convention next month, making him the first sitting president in the organization’s 116-year history to be excluded.
“This has nothing to do with political party.”
NAACP President derrick johnson
NAACP President Derrick Johnson announced the decision Monday during a press conference, stating, “This has nothing to do with political party. Our mission is to advance civil rights, and the current president has made clear that his mission is to eliminate civil rights.”
A request for comment from the White House was not returned, according to the Associated Press.
The decision reflects growing tensions between the Trump administration and civil rights leaders. In recent months, the NAACP has filed multiple lawsuits against Trump and his cabinet, including one targeting the Department of Education over threats to cut funding from schools with diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
In that case, the NAACP argued the department was blocking legal efforts to provide equal opportunity to Black students.
NAACP Breaks From Tradition, Denies Trump Invitation
The NAACP has a long history of inviting presidents from both parties, even in the face of policy disagreements. Democrat Harry Truman became the first sitting president to attend the group’s national convention in 1947.
Republican Ronald Reagan accepted an invitation in 1981, despite backlash over his campaign rhetoric, including his use of the term “welfare queen,” which was widely seen as a racial dog whistle. At the Denver convention, Reagan publicly condemned white supremacist hate groups and pledged his administration would prosecute “those who, by violence or intimidation, would attempt to deny Americans their constitutional rights.”
In 2006, Republican President George W. Bush addressed the NAACP convention after extended criticism of his administration’s slow response to Hurricane Katrina, which devastated Black communities across New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.
The decision not to invite President Trump marks a turning point in how the NAACP engages with power. As Johnson put it: “Our mission is to advance civil rights. The current president has made clear that his mission is to eliminate civil rights.”