'Get back to integrity': Oklahoma's Kevin Stitt on Republicans after Trump

NPR News · Feb 26, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt leads a state that gave President Trump 66% of the vote in 2024. He is also charting his own course and has publicly differed with the president on multiple occasions this year. Most elected Republicans have avoided direct criticism of the president. Republicans in Congress have voted for his priorities, even when some disagreed with them. Stitt has made his disagreements clear, though he has avoided personal attacks and isn't a member of the never-Trump movement. For his part, Trump has described Stitt on social media as a "wiseguy," among other things. Stitt discussed his vision for the Republican Party's post-Trump future and more during an NPR video interview on the sidelines of the National Governors Association meeting in Washington, D.C. "We have to get back to integrity," Stitt said. He described an action by the administration as "un-American." He differed with Trump on elections and embraced the diversity of the United States. He is himself a member of the Cherokee Nation. You can watch the full interview by clicking on the video above, or you can listen to the full interview by clicking on the blue play button above. Below are some highlights from our conversation. He wants to stop the "pendulum" swings Stitt criticized a signature of recent administrations, especially Trump's: tearing up the work of earlier administrations. He singled out a wind power project in Rhode Island that was canceled by the Trump administration. "They did everything right. They've been working on it for eight years. They have all their permits. They're 90% complete, and they just get the plug pulled on them — that is by the administration. That's un-American. We cannot be a pendulum swing where we are going back and forth and we're killing different projects based on our political views," he said. In mid-January, a federal judge ruled that construction on the wind farm off Rhode Island's coast could continue while the legal battle plays out in court. He takes his own approach to immigration Stitt questioned Trump's immigration raids in Minnesota as an infringement on states' rights. He also critiqued Trump's determination to remove everyone without legal status. "The president needs to tell us what's the endgame. Is it truly to deport every single person here in the country? I don't think that's what America wants," Stitt said. Stitt advocates issuing work visas to people without legal status who are currently employed. He also has argued that states should play a larger role in immigration issues. He favors bipartisanship Stitt is chair of the bipartisan National Governors Association, which put him in an awkward position this month. It's traditional for the governors to meet with the president during their winter meeting each February, but the White House invited only Republicans. "The president can ask whoever he wants to the White House, but … if it's not going to include all the governors — I represent all 50 governors — we can't facilitate it from the National Governors Association," Stitt said. Trump publicly criticized Stitt but also phoned him. The White House eventually invited all governors to a meeting, though two Democrats were not invited to a formal dinner. The incident pointed to a larger question of practicing politics: whether and when to deal with the opposition. He celebrates his Cherokee heritage — and is at odds with Cherokee leaders Stitt proudly identifies as part of the Cherokee Nation. He can trace his ancestry to an official list of Cherokees that the U.S. government compiled in the late 1800s. As governor, he nevertheless has been in conflict with Cherokee leaders, who are headquartered in eastern Oklahoma. Their debates touch on one of the biggest themes in American history, the country's relationship to Native nations. In the 1800s, Cherokees and other tribes were forced to leave the eastern United States, surrendering their land in exchange for new land in what became known as Indian Territory. In 1907, that territory was incorporated into the new state of Oklahoma. But Cherokees maintained a separate government with a degree of their old sovereignty, as did other tribes such as the Creeks and Seminoles. In a 2020 case, the Supreme Court found that Oklahoma law enforcement officials had no right to enforce state law in what was once called "Indian country." The power belonged to the tribes. That ruling set aside the conviction of a Seminole man who had been tried for sexual crimes in the Creek Nation. Stitt strongly disagreed with the ruling as a threat to state authority. He has continued to battle with the tribes, and in late 2025 the Choctaw, Cherokee and Chickasaw nations sued him over the enforcement of state wildlife laws. The discussion of his heritage underlines one more theme where Stitt differs with many on the political right. He spoke of Oklahoma's diversity as a strength and said he wanted to attract all kinds of voters to old Republican principles. It also suggests a common theme in Stitt's governorship: He thinks states should wield more power. He has pushed against the federal government above the state and against the tribes that he feels should rank below. Can't see the video above? Watch it on YouTube.