White House dinner closes a turbulent week for governors in Washington

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White House dinner closes a turbulent week for governors in Washington

2026-02-21 21:30 Last Updated At：21:41

WASHINGTON (AP) — The annual dinner with governors at the White House is typically a chance for leaders from both parties to come together, socialize and spend a low-key evening with the president. But like many traditions during President Donald Trump's second term, Saturday's dinner has proven unusually controversial.

Ahead of this week's gathering of the National Governors Association, Trump ridiculed the bipartisan group's leadership, Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma and Democratic Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland. He refused to invite Moore, along with Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, to a working event at the White House on Friday — only to relent at the last minute.

Even then, the event was cut short when Trump learned of the Supreme Court's decision to strike down his sweeping tariff policy, leaving even some Republicans frustrated by the week's turbulence.

"It was unfortunate that the Supreme Court came out with a bad ruling at that time,” said Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican and top Trump ally.

Dozens of Democrats had threatened to boycott the dinner if members of their party were blocked from the working meeting. But even after Moore's attendance, some said they still wouldn't show up Saturday.

“President Trump has made this whole thing a farce,” Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement explaining her decision to skip the dinner.

For all the turmoil surrounding the dinner, some Democrats said Friday's meeting was useful. Moore said it offered a “chance for us to be able to share our thoughts and our perspectives and our ideas.”

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said governors asked Trump what lessons were learned from the administration's aggressive immigration enforcement in Minnesota, in which two U.S. citizens were killed within weeks of each other.

“The President said, 'We’ll only go where we’re wanted,” Hochul said approvingly.

Those who have attended previous dinners said they offered a rare and helpful opportunity for governors to connect with the president and members of his Cabinet away from the pressure of daily governing. Some also said the dinner was a chance to connect with fellow governors from other parties whom they might not see very often.

Asa Hutchinson, the former Republican governor of Arkansas who briefly challenged Trump for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, recalled being assigned to a table one year with then-Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo and getting to know her family.

“It's a glowing evening in the White House,” Hutchinson, who once chaired the NGA, said in an interview.

Harrop, Anselmet combine to win mixed relay for France as part of ski mountaineering's Olympic debut

BORMIO, Italy (AP) — Emily Harrop and Thibault Anselmet combined to win the mixed relay for France on Saturday as part of ski mountaineering's Olympic debut at the Milan Cortina Games.

Each athlete completed two laps, tagging the other after every loop. Harrop and Anselmet finished the Stelvio course in a time of 26 minutes, 57.44 seconds, holding off the Swiss team of Marianne Fatton and Jon Kistler by 11.86 seconds. Spanish racers Ana Alonso Rodriguez and Oriol Cardona Coll captured the bronze.

Ski mountaineering, which is called “skimo” for short, was voted into the Olympic program in 2021. The individual sprint races crowned the sport's first Olympic champions — Fatton and Cardona Coll — on Thursday with the falling snow adding another element to the historic day.

Harrop took the lead after the first lap and the French never let go of the advantage. So confident was Anselmet that he started raising his hands as he took off on the final downhill. The fans roared at the finish.

American racers Anna Gibson and Cameron Smith took fourth.

It was a different course setup than the sprint race, with an extra ascent and descent adding to the lung-searing challenge. The mixed teams alternated between female and male racers over four laps. The course length was listed as 1,410 meters (4,626 feet) with the total ascent around 137 meters (450 feet).

The racers started on an ascent before a descent into the transition zone. They put on their “skins” — a piece of fabric on the bottom of the skis for better uphill traction — before navigating a diamond-shaped pattern that led them to a set of stairs. They stowed their skis on their backs and ran up the steps in ski boots. Then they put their skis back on and scaled another uphill climb before taking the skins off again and flying downhill.

Once they reached the “handover” zone, they tagged their partner to begin another lap. Fatton cut the lead heading into the final lap but Anselmet found another gear to restore the advantage.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics