The Congressional Black Caucus doesn't want to be a backdrop for a Trump photo-op

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

published 21 June 2017

The Congressional Black Caucus is likely to turn down a meeting with President Trump due to frustration with the administration's apparent disinterest in its priorities and an opposition to being a willing photo-op "that the president could use to bolster his standing among African-Americans," Politico writes. The group will officially decide how to handle the president's request at its weekly meeting Wednesday, although people close to the caucus say a summit with the president is definitely "off the table."

The 49-member CBC also reacted poorly to the invitation from the White House, extended by former Apprentice contestant Omarosa Manigault:

"As requested by the president, we would like to schedule a follow-up meeting with the entire membership of the Congressional Black Caucus to discuss issues pertinent to your members," Manigault wrote in the invitation, obtained by Politico.But multiple CBC members said they were put off that she signed the invitation as "the Honorable Omarosa Manigault," saying she hasn't earned that title nor has she helped raise the profile of CBC issues within the White House as promised. [Politico]

As one senior Democratic aide put the CBC's likely decision: "No one wants to be a co-star on the reality show."

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Update 3:51 p.m.: The Congressional Black Caucus has officially turned down the meeting with President Trump. "While we agreed to explore possible future discussions when we first met, it has become abundantly clear that a conversation with the entire CBC would not be entirely productive, given the actions taken by your administration since our first meeting," the CBC wrote. Read their entire letter here.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.