On Tuesday, March 3, Guilford County commissioners will meet President Donald Trump at a national conference of county officials in Washington, DC. However, Democratic Guilford County Commissioner Skip Alston said this week that he won’t attend the event because he has no interest in meeting this president or in hearing what he has to say.

A group of six Guilford County commissioners – Alston, Kay Cashion, Alan Perdue, Alan Branson, Carlvena Foster and Chairman of the Board of Commissioners Jeff Phillips – will be attending the National Association of Counties (NACo) conference, which runs from Saturday, Feb. 29 to Wednesday, March 4. On Tuesday, the group will hear from the president and meet him.

But Alston isn’t going to be at Trump’s speech or reception.

“I wouldn’t waste my time,” Alston said of meeting the president that some other commissioners are thrilled about seeing.

Chairman Phillips said he’s looking forward a great deal to meeting Trump. He said he’s a little dismayed that any commissioner would pass up the chance to meet the president and listen to his remarks.

“He is, after all, the president of the United States of America,” Phillips said. “He will definitely spice things up a bit to say the least.”

Each year, NACo holds its “Legislative Conference,” which brings together about 2,000 elected and appointed county officials. There, county commissioners, managers and other top county staff explore the latest issues related to federal policies that affect county governments, and they also hear from federal officials and participate in congressional briefings.

Alston said that, while he has no interest in meeting Trump, he has put forward great effort this week into trying to get Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to come to Guilford County. He said that Biden will be visiting North Carolina, but, he added, it’s not clear yet if Biden will make an appearance in Guilford County.