For the first time in more than a century, the NAACP has made an extraordinary declaration: a sitting president of the United States is unwelcome at its national convention.
In a striking break with 116 years of tradition, the nation’s oldest civil rights organization has refused to extend an invitation to President Donald J. Trump, delivering a searing indictment of his administration’s record on democracy, racial justice, and the rule of law.
“”For 116 years, the NAACP has invited the sitting president of the United States to address the NAACP National Convention — regardless of their political party,” declared NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson. “There is a rich history of both Republicans and Democrats attending our convention — from Harry Truman to Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and beyond. We’re nonpartisan and always welcome those who believe in democracy and the Constitution.”
The decision, he explained, was not made lightly—but in light of Trump’s relentless assaults on voting rights, his deployment of military force against American citizens, and his administration’s systemic dismantling of civil rights protections, the NAACP could no longer lend its stage to a leader who has shown nothing but contempt for its mission.
The White House, predictably, responded with dismissive scorn. Spokesperson Harrison Fields accused the NAACP of fostering “hate and division,” a breathtaking accusation from an administration that has spent years stoking racial resentment, emboldening white supremacists, and weaponizing division as a political strategy. Fields’ claim that Trump enjoys unprecedented Black support is a distortion at best—a thin veneer over policies that have disproportionately harmed communities of color, from voter suppression to economic neglect to the relentless demonization of racial justice movements.
This is not merely a political dispute. It is a moral reckoning.
Trump’s relationship with the NAACP has been one of open hostility since long before he took office.
As a candidate in 2016, he declined to address the organization, breaking with decades of bipartisan precedent.
As president, he ignored repeated invitations, choosing instead to traffic in racist rhetoric, defend Confederate symbols, and amplify the voices of bigots.
Trump’s administration has rolled back civil rights enforcement, attacked affirmative action, and sought to gut protections for marginalized Americans at every turn.
Now, the NAACP has drawn a line.
The convention, Johnson emphasized, is not a partisan forum—it is a sanctuary for those committed to democracy, justice, and multiracial solidarity. To invite Trump, he argued, would be to legitimize a leader whose vision of America is antithetical to those values. “It would be a waste of our time and energy to give a platform to fascism,” Johnson said—a statement as damning as it is deliberate.
The implications are profound. The NAACP’s decision is more than a symbolic gesture—it is a warning. It reflects a growing recognition that Trump’s brand of politics is not merely conservative or controversial, but corrosive to the very foundations of American democracy.
His exploitation of racial tensions, his disdain for constitutional norms, and his relentless attacks on the institutions that safeguard equality have pushed the nation’s preeminent civil rights organization to take an unprecedented stand.
“But right now, it’s clear — Donald Trump is attacking our democracy and our civil rights. He believes more in the fascist playbook than in the U.S. Constitution,” said Johnson. “This playbook is radical and un-American. 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.”
“The NAACP Convention has always been a place where people across the country come together to map out our advocacy and mobilization strategies to advance civil rights and democracy for all,” said Johnson. “Our annual convention is meant to be a safe space for all people — regardless of political ideology — who believe in multiracial democracy and the ideal of building a more perfect union.”
“To that end, the NAACP has made the decision to break with tradition and not invite Donald Trump or J.D. Vance this year,” said Johnson. “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.”
History will remember this moment. It will remember an administration that so thoroughly alienated the guardians of racial justice that they revoked its invitation to the table. It will remember a president who chose division over unity, power over principle, and self-interest over the common good.
And it will remember the NAACP’s refusal to stay silent.
The message is clear: some traditions are not worth keeping when they serve only to normalize the unacceptable.