Utah Gov. Spencer Cox sat for an interview Thursday morning at a live Politico event as governors from across the country convene for an annual gathering of the National Governors Association.
Cox spoke about his differences in opinion with President Donald Trump and divisiveness in the country, as well as the concept of being an American under heightened immigration scrutiny, and how his membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints affects his views.
He also addressed whether he has presidential ambitions, and shared his views on the idea of “heritage Americans.”
The conversation comes after Trump refused to invite two Democratic governors to the White House for what is traditionally a meeting of all sitting governors with the president.
Cox reaffirms he’s not running, but still has passion
Cox was one of several speakers early Thursday at a Governors Summit hosted by Politico in honor of the NGA’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
He spoke about some of his favorite issues, including reducing social media use in society and eliminating sports gambling and the targeting of young men across the country.
Cox was asked by Politico’s Jonathan Martin about what his plans are after he finishes his second term as Utah’s governor. He strongly denied that he would make a 2028 presidential bid.
“I’m not running, just want to make that very clear. I know that’s what people who are running say, so it’s very confusing to people, but it’s also what people who aren’t running say,” Cox said. “And so, let me just assure you that I’m one of the people that are not running who say it.”
He also said he does not plan to run for a Senate seat.
Martin noted that Cox rose to the national stage thanks to his Disagree Better initiative, which he started in 2023 as NGA chair and now continues as a nonprofit. Martin questioned the governor about how he will continue this work after he leaves office. It’s rumored that Cox could go on to further his efforts at a national-level organization or at a university, but the governor wouldn’t say what he wants to do after leaving office.
“I don’t know. I get three years to be governor. That’s all that matters to me. I really try not to think about it, because once you take your eye off the ball, it’s hard to get your eye back on the arena of ideas,” he said. “Look, yeah, I care about this stuff deeply, and I want to spend more time with my family.”
“But I hope that there will be a place for ideas, and I hope to be able to share mine.”
Cox asked about Trump and national unity
Cox was also thrust into the national spotlight last year after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at Utah Valley University. Cox called for Americans to turn down the political temperature and for an end to political violence.
He was asked Thursday about his comments to Trump after his 2024 assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The governor wrote to then-candidate Trump to say he had the ability in that moment to unite and save the country for the better. Martin asked Cox on Thursday if he believes since retaking the White House that this is something Trump has achieved.
“It’s certainly aspirational and hopeful in the conversation that we had, and he and I have had these conversations. I’m grateful to have a relationship with him that ... I can push back,” Cox replied. “And look, specifically during the Charlie Kirk shooting, I think it was a dark time, it was a tragic time. He and I disagreed on some things and he knows that, again, he would tell you if he were sitting here right next to me. In fact, he said it in Charlie Kirk’s memorial.
“He said ‘Charlie would be mad at me because he wanted me to forgive my enemies and I hate my enemies.’ And so he and I differ on that, he knows that. I know that I still believe that he is a very unique person, a very unique candidate, very unique president, someone who, if he put his mind to it, could do more to unify. He’s not putting his mind to it. He said very clearly that’s not who he is,” Cox continued.
Cox went on to say that he believes that people should forgive their enemies, saying it’s part of his faith but also something he struggles with. He admitted that he knows it’s not something human beings do easily.
“I would love more unity, but that doesn’t mean we should agree on everything,” he said.
Martin then clarified, asking the governor, “You wouldn’t sit here with a straight face and say that President Trump is trying to unify?”
“No, no, and he wouldn’t say that either,” Cox said.
During his remarks, Cox also pushed back against the Trump administration’s approach to gambling and artificial intelligence. He said the administration trying to tell states what to do in that regard is “preposterous.”
“I’m concerned about these new technologies and what they’re doing to our kids,” he said. “It’s one thing if we’re fighting China and you’re developing your model. But once you start selling sexualized chatbots to kids in my state, now I have a problem with that, and I’m going to get involved.”
Martin asked the Utah governor about conversations on the political right about “heritage Americans” and the ongoing debate over immigration, and asked Cox what he thought it means to be — or not to be — an American.
“I don’t care if you’ve been here since the 1600s, as the Coxes who immigrated from Great Britain to the Massachusetts colony and eventually immigrated to Utah,” Cox said, “or if you just got here a week ago, that being an American is more about an idea than how long you’ve been here.”
Cox noted that the country is celebrating its 250th birthday this year and invoked the history of the Latter-day Saints.
“In Utah, we believe that very, very strongly as people who were kicked out of our homes and kind of had to leave the United States a little bit ago to what was then the Mexican territory to be able to practice our faith. We know what it’s like to be discriminated against and we want to make sure that doesn’t happen to other people,” he said.
On NGA, Govs. Stitt, Moore and Polis
Ahead of Cox’s remarks Thursday, he also participated in a Disagree Better event with Pew Charitable Trusts on Wednesday evening alongside Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, who is the current chair of NGA.
Trump said last week that two Democratic governors were not welcome at the annual NGA meeting hosted at the White House, Moore and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis. Stitt pushed back on the president and said the NGA would not hold an event unless every governor was included.
During the discussion Wednesday, the three governors said they chose unity over division and would have a very productive few days in Washington working across the aisle. After Moore and Polis were excluded from the dinner invite, as many as 18 other governors said they would not attend out of solidarity.
During a joint conversation at Politico’s event Thursday, Moore and Stitt said that it’s unfortunate that Trump was unwilling to have all governors at the White House.
Moore, a rumored favorite to lead the Democrats in 2028, also recently said he will not run for higher office. He was asked if he could change his mind.
“I appreciate the fact those questions keep coming up. This is, it’s amazing how I’m not thinking about this at all,” he said, noting his focus is Maryland. “I appreciate the repeated questions, but my answer is not changing.”
Stitt was asked about his exchanges with the White House after he called Trump to say the NGA would not sponsor or publicly participate in an event where not everyone was invited.
He did confirm that he will be in attendance for several upcoming White House events, because the “NGA is bigger than one meeting” and that he stresses the importance of maintaining a good relationship with federal counterparts for the people of his state.
Moore said he would not be going to the White House, but said he would be open to working with anyone. He praised Stitt’s leadership during the conflict with Trump, particularly as the president criticized the Oklahoma governor in posts online.
“This has been a very complicated time,” Moore said.
“It’s just reminding all the governors that the NGA is bigger than who sits in the White House, right? This is a decades-long tradition that has existed where governors from around the country come and we meet about issues of real importance to all of us,” Moore added. “That bond is stronger than one person.”
The other Democrat excluded from the events at the White House, Polis of Colorado, also spoke at Politico’s summit.
When asked why he wasn’t invited to the White House, Polis acknowledged it could be related to the state imprisonment of Tina Peters, a former county clerk who is serving a nine-year sentence over voter equipment fraud from the 2020 election.
Trump has called for her to be released and Polis confirmed he is examining her case, because it’s an unusual sentence given she’s a first-time, nonviolent offender.
Polis wasalso asked whether his being the only openly gay governor had anything to do with not being invited.
“Certainly in my circles, it’s a badge of honor to be distinguished for not being at the table at a social event with the president,” Polis replied. “Nobody knows, you know, what’s in his mind. And, of course, it’s what he wants us to discuss, what’s in his mind. So, I have no clue.”
Polis noted that he and Moore both hold leadership positions in the NGA, so in a way, “it could be interpreted as targeting NGA.”
“I have no particular reason to believe it’s because I’m gay or because (Moore’s) Black. There certainly could be aspects to it that are related to that,” he continued. “But I think the fact that we’re trying to guess the president’s mind is just a useless exercise to entertain now.”