Donald Trump became the first sitting president in NAACP history to be excluded from its national convention over concerns about civil rights and democracy.
President Donald Trump will not receive an invitation to the NAACP’s 2025 national convention, marking the first time in the civil rights group’s 116-year history that a sitting U.S. president has been left off the guest list.
The NAACP confirmed the decision Tuesday (June 17), citing Donald Trump’s record on civil rights, democracy and executive actions as incompatible with the organization’s values. Vice President JD Vance was also excluded from the invitation list.
“Donald Trump is attacking our democracy and our civil rights. He believes more in the fascist playbook than in the U.S. Constitution. This playbook is radical and un-American,” NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson said in a statement.
The group’s national convention has historically welcomed every sitting president since its founding in 1909. Past attendees have included Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan.
Even presidents who clashed with the NAACP’s mission were still extended the courtesy of an invitation.
But Johnson said the organization could not ignore what he described as Trump’s repeated violations of democratic norms and civil liberties.
“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 added.
The NAACP stated that the convention is designed to be a platform for individuals who support multiracial democracy and constitutional rights.
Johnson emphasized that the group would not compromise those principles for the sake of political tradition.
The White House responded to the decision by calling it divisive. In a statement, officials said Trump remains focused on “uniting the country and improving the economy.”
The 2025 NAACP National Convention is scheduled to take place in Las Vegas.
