NAACP Shuts Out Trump From Historic Convention, Citing Civil Rights Betrayal
For the first time in its 116-year history, the NAACP has declined to invite a sitting U.S. president to its national convention — a stark rebuke of President Donald Trump and his administration’s policies, which the group says run counter to its core mission of advancing civil rights.
Announced Monday by NAACP President Derrick Johnson, the decision marks an unprecedented break from tradition for the country’s oldest and most influential civil rights organization. The annual convention, scheduled for next month in Charlotte, North Carolina, will proceed without the presence — or invitation — of the president.
“This has nothing to do with political party,” Johnson said at a press conference. “Our mission is to advance civil rights, and the current president has made clear that his mission is to eliminate civil rights.”
While the NAACP has had a long history of engaging presidents from both parties — including Republican and Democratic leaders with whom it has had deep policy disagreements — officials say Trump represents a categorical departure from that norm. The group pointed to a growing list of grievances, including legal battles over the administration’s rollback of equity-focused education policies.
Just this April, the NAACP filed a lawsuit against the Department of Education, challenging efforts to defund schools that maintained diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. The organization argued such measures directly threaten equal educational opportunity for Black students and violate the principles of fairness and access that underpin federal education law.
“There is a rich history of both Republicans and Democrats attending our convention,” the NAACP said in a statement, noting that President Harry Truman became the first sitting president to appear at the gathering in 1947. “But this moment is different.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The exclusion of Trump from the upcoming convention adds to the deepening divide between the administration and major civil rights institutions. It also underscores how Trump’s presidency has galvanized a new wave of organized resistance from legacy organizations long committed to racial and social justice.
For the NAACP, the message is clear: when a president actively works to dismantle civil rights protections, tradition must give way to principle.
