PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump hosted 22 of the nation’s 27 Republican governors for dinner at his Florida club Thursday evening, in an effort to help set the agenda in conservative-led states after his 11-day presidential election came to power.
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte told reporters outside the meeting that some of the GOP governors who could not attend were inaugurated, and that one governor had been delayed by snow and was unable to attend Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach to reach. But he said those who were able to attend were “delighted to accept the president-elect’s invitation” and welcomed a coming “collaborative relationship, which we haven’t had in four years” during the Biden administration.
“It has been a long period without cooperation from Washington,” Gianforte told reporters outside. “So we look forward to the arrival of the new government. We have a lot of business to do on behalf of our states. We are happy to be here to meet with the president.”
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Most reporters were not invited to the proceedings, but cameras were allowed inside some of the time. This allowed Trump to answer a series of questions from a Fox News Channel journalist.
He discussed everything from his desire to see the U.S. take control of Greenland, to the parade of tech company leaders who have come to Florida to visit him since Election Day, to his threats to impose high tariffs on Canada .
The newly elected president also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin “wants to have a meeting, and we are arranging that.”
The dinner came after Trump held a lengthy closed-door meeting with Republican senators on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. Trump described his conversations with his senators as “a love fest,” but added: “This is a love fest too.”
“The governors aren’t exactly chopped livers,” he said, laughing.
Trump also renewed previous vows to work with leaders in blue states, saying, “We want to get along with the Democrats. I try to be nice.”
Gianforte said many of the governors in attendance were concerned about the “overreach” of the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal entities under President Joe Biden, adding, “I know every governor standing here has expressed frustration.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis – Trump’s main rival in last year’s GOP primaries – was asked about the president-elect’s sharp criticism of California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom as cataclysmic wildfires raged in Los Angeles rages.
DeSantis blamed the media for what he said needlessly promoted controversy and political division, adding that Trump will work effectively with states regardless of whether they are red or blue.
“I worked well with Biden on natural disasters during his time, and I worked well with Donald Trump,” DeSantis said, referring to the hurricanes that hit Florida and the deadly collapse of a beachfront apartment in Surfside in 2021. “So I’m very confident, as a state that knows – we’re facing this – that a Trump administration will be very strong and will be there for the people, regardless of party.”
One of the questions Trump answered Thursday was about the frequent drone sightings that have made headlines in recent weeks but have seen a decline in attention lately. That prompted several governors around the table to express concern that such aircraft could enter military or other secure areas.
“They don’t want to talk about it,” Trump said, repeating claims he has made in the past that the administration may be covering up something about the issue. He promised to shed more light on it after Inauguration Day on January 20.
“We’ll find out on the 21st,” he said. “You have to give me some time after the inauguration. But I’ll give you a report on it soon after. We’ll tell you exactly what it is.’
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