President Donald Trump‘s afternoon was bookended by meetings with governors on opposite ends of the political spectrum, sit-downs that aides said demonstrate his desire to work with governors from across the aisle. Trump met with Govs. Greg Abbott (R-TX) at the White House on Wednesday before hours later sitting down with one of his preferred political punching bags, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA). During Wednesday’s briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt described Abbott “as a great friend and ally to the president,” who has been “on the front lines of the border crisis in this country.”
“As for Gov. Gavin Newsom, well, the president is willing to work with anybody from blue states or red states to do what’s best for the American people,” Leavitt told reporters. For California Democratic strategist Garry South, the Abbott and Newsom meetings represented “a gubernatorial odd couple if there ever was one.”
