The NAACP announced it will not invite President Donald Trump to its national convention next month, marking the first time in the civil rights organization’s 116-year history that a sitting U.S. president has been excluded.
“This has nothing to do with political party,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson said. “Our mission is to advance civil rights, and the current president has made clear that his mission is to eliminate civil rights.”
In a statement, Johnson slammed the current administration’s attacks on civil rights as the reason for breaking from the organization’s long-standing tradition to invite the sitting president.
“The president has signed unconstitutional executive orders to oppress voters and undo federal civil rights protections; he has illegally turned the military on our communities, and he continually undermines every pillar of our democracy to make himself more powerful and to personally benefit from the U.S. government,” Johnson said.
Johnson noted that the convention is meant to be a safe space for all, regardless of political ideology, and while the NAACP had previously invited presidents with whom it had policy disagreements, they had to break tradition this year.
“To that end, the NAACP has made the decision to break with tradition and not invite Donald Trump or J.D. Vance this year,” the statement continued. “This administration does not respect the Constitution or the rule of law. It would be a waste of our time and energy to give a platform to fascism, which would be unacceptable.”
The convention is taking place from July 12 to 16 in Charlotte, North Carolina, and comes as the NAACP has filed multiple lawsuits against Trump.
Most recently, the NAACP sued the Department of Education in March for withholding federal money for schools that declined to end their diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
With reporting from the Associated Press.
